Syria Sentences Liwa al-Quds Fighter to Life in Prison

Abdul Jabbar Ghazi Arziq received a life sentence from a Syrian court on Wednesday after being convicted of joining Liwa al-Quds. The militia, also known as the Jerusalem Brigades, operated with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Palestine Liberation Front. State media reported that the group primarily recruited fighters from the Bab an-Nayrab Palestinian Refugee Camp east of Aleppo.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies notes that the unit possessed light arms, mortars, and short-range rockets. In April 2023, Al Mayadeen, a Lebanese network affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that Liwa al-Quds claimed responsibility for rocket fire from Syrian soil toward the Golan Heights. Those strikes targeted the Israeli towns of Netur and Avni Eitan. The Syrian judiciary classified the group’s actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity, citing their intent to incite civil war and seize urban centers.

Radif Mustafa, director of the Accountability and Prosecution Department at the National Commission for Transitional Justice, explained the reasoning behind the harsh penalty. He told state media outlet SANA that the severity of the acts and the specific threat they posed to civilians and social stability were key factors. The court rejected Arziq’s request for mitigating circumstances and ruled that he would not qualify for future gender-based or special amnesty.

Mustafa added that the ruling serves as a confirmation that political shifts do not erase past offenses. He stated that further measures are underway to ensure that victims of the previous Assad administration receive justice. The decision marks a concrete step in the transitional process, holding a specific IRGC-linked operative accountable for his role in a militia that supported the deposed regime.