German court sentences Syrian doctor to life in prison for torture and war crimes in his homeland
The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court also established the particular gravity of the guilt, which in practice virtually rules out early release after 15 years — as is often the case in Germany when people are sentenced to life imprisonment. The 40-year-old Syrian, who was identified as Alaa M. in line with German privacy rules, was placed in preventive detention, German news agency dpa reported.
In his verdict, presiding judge Christoph Koller described the actions of the accused in the military hospital in the Syrian city of Homs in the early stages of the civil war that began in 2011. He said the doctor had sadistic tendencies and acted them out during the torture.
'Above all, the accused enjoyed harming people that seemed inferior and low-value to him,' Koller said, according to dpa.
During the trial, which lasted almost three and a half years, victims had described the most severe abuse, including beatings, kicks and the setting of wounds and body parts on fire, dpa reported.
Koller emphasized that without the willingness and courage of witnesses to share the details of their suffering the facts of the case could not have been clarified.
M. had lived in Germany for ten years and had worked as an orthopedic surgeon in several clinics, most recently in Bad Wildungen in northern Hesse. In summer 2020, he was arrested after some of his victims had recognized him from a TV documentary about Homs, dpa reported.
The doctor supposedly tortured prisoners who were considered part of the opposition to former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The trial against him began in January 2022.
Alaa M. described himself as not guilty during the trial, alleging that he was the victim of a conspiracy, dpa wrote. The verdict is not yet final.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Syrian authorities arrest Assad-era militant suspected of mutilating bodies
LONDON: Authorities in the Syrian Arab Republic arrested a suspect for grave violations associated with the defunct Assad regime against civilians during the country's civil war. Security forces in the coastal governorate of Latakia have arrested Naser Hani Ruslan, who is accused of participating in serious abuses against Syrians, the Interior Ministry announced. The ministry added that Ruslan was part of a militia linked to the former Assad regime and was reportedly involved in operations against areas controlled by Syrian rebel forces, including the mutilation of bodies. Authorities have begun investigations against Ruslan, who is awaiting trial. Following the fall of the Assad regime last December, the new government in Damascus has arrested several suspects, including army officers, for crimes committed against Syrians during the country's civil conflict.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
War Crimes Likely Committed by Both Sides in Syria Sectarian Violence, UN Commission says
War crimes were likely committed by members of interim government forces as well as by fighters loyal to Syria's former rulers during an outbreak of sectarian violence in Syria's coastal areas that culminated in a series of March massacres, a UN team of investigators found in a report on Thursday. Some 1,400 people, mainly civilians, were reported killed during the violence that primarily targeted Alawi communities, and reports of violations continue, according to a report by the UN Syria Commission of Inquiry. "The scale and brutality of the violence documented in our report is deeply disturbing," said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission, in a statement released alongside the report. Torture, killings and inhumane acts related to the treatment of the dead were documented by the UN team which based its research on more than 200 interviews with victims and witnesses as well as visits to mass grave sites. The incidents in the coastal region were the worst violence to hit Syria since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last year, prompting the interim government to name a fact-finding committee. There was no immediate public comment in response to the report from interim authorities nor from former Syrian officials, many of whom have left the country. A Reuters investigation last month found nearly 1,500 Syrian Alawites - the minority sect of Assad - had been killed and identified a chain of command from the attackers directly to men who serve alongside Syria's new leaders. New Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has previously denounced the violence as a threat to his mission to unite the country and promised to punish those responsible. The commission acknowledged in its report the commitment of Syria's interim authorities to identify those responsible but said the scale of the violence warranted further steps.
Asharq Al-Awsat
9 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Explosion in Syria's Idlib Kills Four People, State News Agency Says
Four people were killed and five were injured in an explosion on the outskirts of Syria's Idlib city on Thursday, the country's state news agency reported, giving an initial casualty toll. Earlier on Thursday, Syria's official Ekhbariya TV reported that an explosion was heard in Idlib in the northwest, and authorities were working to verify its nature.
