Latest news with #AnwarRaslan
Reuters
03-06-2025
- General
- Reuters
Syrian man handed life sentence in Germany for war crimes
BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - A German court sentenced a Syrian man to life in prison on Tuesday for crimes against humanity and war crimes it said he had committed as a leading member of a Hezbollah-backed militia during Syria's civil war. The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart found the 33-year-old man guilty of leading a militia that carried out brutal attacks on Sunni Muslim civilians in his home town of Busra al-Sham in southern Syria. It did not name the man. In 2013 the militia beat three people with Kalashnikovs and handed them over to the military intelligence of Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad, which tortured them and kept them in appalling conditions, the court found. In a 2014 raid, the group also forced a 40-year-old man and his family from their home. The man was tortured and later found on the street unable to walk due to his injuries, the court verdict said. Hezbollah, a Lebanese Iranian-backed Shi'ite group, played a major role propping up Assad during the civil war in Syria. German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. Based on these laws, several people suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in the last few years in Germany, which is home to almost one million Syrians. In a landmark case in 2022 a German court jailed Syrian ex-intelligence officer Anwar Raslan for life for murder, rape and crimes against humanity, in the first ever conviction for state-backed torture committed during Syria's civil war. In January this year, a high-ranking member of the Islamic State militant group, a Syrian national identified as Ossama A., was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Germany, partly for alleged involvement in a genocide against the minority Yazidi community. The trial of the man sentenced on Tuesday began last October and lasted for 42 court days. It included 30 witnesses, most of whom were Syrian nationals now living around the world, testifying over multiple sessions. The court also consulted expert witnesses and reviewed extensive image and video evidence, some of which was made available after Assad's fall from power last December, including images of detention facilities and looted homes. The court said the verdict could be appealed.
Asharq Al-Awsat
03-06-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Pro-Assad Fighter Jailed For Life in Germany for Crimes Against Humanity
A German court on Tuesday convicted a Syrian man of crimes against humanity and jailed him for life over offences committed during his time fighting for former President Bashar al-Assad. The court in the city of Stuttgart found the former militiaman guilty of crimes including murder and torture after a trial which involved testimony from 30 witnesses. Shortly after the outbreak of anti-Assad protests in early 2011, the man joined a pro-government militia in the southern town of Bosra al-Sham, according to AFP. He proceeded to take part in several crimes against the local population with the aim of "terrorizing" them and driving them from the town, the court found. German authorities have pursued several suspects for crimes committed in Syria's civil war under the principle of universal jurisdiction, even after Assad's ouster last December. In 2022, former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was found guilty of overseeing the murders of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at the notorious Al-Khatib jail in 2011 and 2012. That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syrian prisons and was hailed as "historic" by human rights activists.
The Sun
03-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Syrian pro-Assad fighter jailed for life in Germany for crimes against humanity
BERLIN: A German court on Tuesday convicted a Syrian man of crimes against humanity and jailed him for life over offences committed during his time fighting for former President Bashar al-Assad. The court in the city of Stuttgart found the former militiaman guilty of crimes including murder and torture after a trial which involved testimony from 30 witnesses. Shortly after the outbreak of anti-Assad protests in early 2011, the man joined a pro-government Shia militia in the southern town of Bosra al-Sham. He proceeded to take part in several crimes against the local Sunni population with the aim of 'terrorising' them and driving them from the town, the court found. German authorities have pursued several suspects for crimes committed in Syria's civil war under the principle of universal jurisdiction, even after Assad's ouster last December. In 2022, former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was found guilty of overseeing the murders of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at the notorious Al-Khatib jail in 2011 and 2012. That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syrian prisons and was hailed as 'historic' by human rights activists.
Al Arabiya
03-06-2025
- General
- Al Arabiya
Syrian pro-Assad fighter jailed for life in Germany for crimes against humanity
A German court on Tuesday convicted a Syrian man of crimes against humanity and jailed him for life over offences committed during his time fighting for former President Bashar al-Assad. The court in the city of Stuttgart found the former militiaman guilty of crimes including murder and torture after a trial which involved testimony from 30 witnesses. Shortly after the outbreak of anti-Assad protests in early 2011, the man joined a pro-government Shia militia in the southern town of Bosra al-Sham. He proceeded to take part in several crimes against the local Sunni population with the aim of 'terrorizing' them and driving them from the town, the court found. German authorities have pursued several suspects for crimes committed in Syria's civil war under the principle of universal jurisdiction, even after Assad's ouster last December. In 2022, former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was found guilty of overseeing the murders of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at the notorious Al-Khatib jail in 2011 and 2012. That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syrian prisons and was hailed as 'historic' by human rights activists.
Arab News
03-06-2025
- General
- Arab News
Syrian pro-Assad fighter jailed for life in Germany for crimes against humanity
BERLIN: A German court on Tuesday convicted a Syrian man of crimes against humanity and jailed him for life over offenses committed during his time fighting for former President Bashar Assad. The court in the city of Stuttgart found the former militiaman guilty of crimes including murder and torture after a trial which involved testimony from 30 witnesses. Shortly after the outbreak of anti-Assad protests in early 2011, the man joined a pro-government Shia militia in the southern town of Bosra Al-Sham. He proceeded to take part in several crimes against the local Sunni population with the aim of 'terrorizing' them and driving them from the town, the court found. German authorities have pursued several suspects for crimes committed in Syria's civil war under the principle of universal jurisdiction, even after Assad's ouster last December. In 2022, former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was found guilty of overseeing the murders of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at the notorious Al-Khatib jail in 2011 and 2012. That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syrian prisons and was hailed as 'historic' by human rights activists.
