The Damascus Criminal Court has handed down death sentences to the head of Tahrir al-Sham Mohamed al-Sharaa, known by his alias Abu Muhammad al-Julani and Jaysh al-Islam group head Essam al-Buwaydhani.
Commander of the Army of Islam, Essam Bouhayani and Tahrir al-Sham commanders Abdul Nasser Al-Shamir were also sentenced to death. The court trail which released the death penalties was held in absentia.
The defendants face charges, including the "possession of explosive material to spread horror and committing a crime against the state."
It remains unclear when the ruling was issued.
Julani was active in Iraq in 2003 after Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled before moving his activities to Syria in 2011.
Shortly after the uprising against the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad began in 2011, Julani helped forming al-Nusra Front, an amalgamation of extremist Syrian opposition fractions,and announced its split from al-Qaeda affiliate.
The verdict, which included 40 defendants, comes after backers of Bashar al-Assad regime's reestablished control of many areas from the opposition in Damascus, Homs, Aleppo and Daraa provinces.
The verdict also ordered each of those convicted to pay fines to and cover treatment expenses of those injured in battle against them.
