Court In Damascus Sentences Leaders Of Terrorist Groups To Death - Reports

DAMASCUS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2018) The criminal court of Damascus on Tuesday issued in absentia death penalty to the leaders of several terrorist groups, including Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, outlawed in Russia), local media reported.

According to al-Watan newspaper citing court's decision,�the death penalty list includes over 40 militants, mostly from the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta. The leader of the Jaysh al-Islam is among the sentenced, according to the newspaper.

The militants were accused of shelling residential areas of Damascus � which has resulted in casualties among many civilians, including children and women � and other crimes.

The court's decision can be reversed if the accused will confess and surrender to the authorities, a Syrian lawmaker told the newspaper.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and militant and terrorist organizations.