SYRIA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR BELONGING TO EXTREMIST ISLAMIC GROUP COMMUTED

Syria's State Security Court sentenced Ali Ahmad al-Ajeel, a Syrian national, to 12 years in jail after initially ordering him to be sentenced to death for belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said in a statement. Another Syrian and a Jordanian were also sentenced to prison for belonging to extremist Islamic groups. There was no immediate comment on the verdict from Syrian authorities, which do not usually comment on cases deemed political or matters of national security.