Syria court jails cousin of President Assad for murder

A cousin of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of a military officer last summer, a security source said Friday.

"A court in Latakia on Thursday sentenced Suleiman al-Assad to 20 years in prison for the murder of Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh," the source said.

The murder took place in August on the road between Latakia city and Qardaha, the ancestral village of the Assad family.

Latakia province is a regime stronghold and heartland of the Alawite minority to which the president, Sheikh and Suleiman al-Assad all belong. 

Sheikh's relatives said at the time that the president had pledged "to punish the perpetrator, whoever he is."

The killing sparked mass protests in Latakia where more than 1,000 Latakians held a sit-in at al-Zaraa square demanding that Suleiman al-Assad be put to death for the alleged crime.  

Most of the protesters were thought to be from the president's Alawite community, who were said to be growing increasingly disillusioned with the Assad regime. 
 
In a bid to calm tensions, pro-regime newspaper, al-Watan, reported at the time that Assad had spoken to Sheikh's widow and vowed to punish Suleiman al-Assad. 

Mayssa Ghanem told the daily that she had "received a promise from President Assad to punish the perpetrator, whoever he is".

Suleiman al-Assad's father, Hilal al-Assad, a first cousin of the president, headed the defence forces in Latakia city before his death in March 2014 during clashes with rebels in nearby Kasab.