Latest news with #ECCHR
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Germany Hands Syrian Doctor Life for Torturing Assad Critics
A Syrian doctor who had practiced in Germany was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Monday for crimes against humanity and war crimes after he was found guilty of torturing dissidents in Syria. The 40-year-old, identified only as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was found guilty of killing two people and torturing another eight during his time working in Syria as a doctor at a military hospital and detention center in Homs in 2011 and 2012. The court said his crimes were part of a systematic attack against people protesting against then-President Bashar al-Assad that precipitated the country's civil war. Assad was toppled in December. His government denied it tortured prisoners. Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015, after fleeing to Germany among a large influx of Syrian refugees, and became one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system. He was arrested in June 2020, and was handed a life sentence without parole, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt said in a statement. The defendant had pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy. German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. They have targeted several former Syrian officials in similar cases in recent years. The plaintiffs were supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. ECCHR lawyer Patrick Kroker called Monday's ruling "a further step towards a comprehensive reckoning with Assad's crimes". Judges found that the doctor caused "considerable physical suffering" as a result of the torture inflicted on his victims, which included serious beatings, mistreating wounds and inflicting serious injury to the genitals of two prisoners, one of whom was a teenage boy. Two patients died after he gave them lethal medication, the court statement said. Monday's ruling can be appealed.
TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- Health
- TimesLIVE
German court to deliver landmark verdict on Syrian doctor accused of torture
A German court is set to deliver a verdict on Monday in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity, including the torture of detainees at military hospitals in Syria, in a landmark trial after the collapse of the Assad regime. The trial of the 40-year-old doctor began in January 2022 at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, spanning over 186 sessions where the court listened to about 50 witnesses and victims, along with legal experts. The defendant, identified as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was accused of torturing opponents of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while serving as a physician at a military prison and hospitals in Homs and Damascus during 2011 and 2012. In court, Alaa M. pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy. The verdict will be the first to be handed down in a case involving former Syrians accused of state-backed torture since Assad was overthrown in December 2024. Germany has prosecuted several former Syrian officials in such cases in recent years. The Assad government denied it tortured prisoners. Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015 and worked as a doctor, becoming one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system. He was arrested in June 2020 and held in pretrial detention. Prosecutors charged Alaa M. with more than a dozen counts of torture and accused him of killing a prisoner. In one instance, he allegedly performed a bone fracture correction surgery without adequate anaesthesia. He is also accused of attempting to deprive prisoners of their reproductive capacity in two separate cases. The plaintiffs were supported by the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which has brought similar cases to German courts in the past. German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. The doctor also worked at the Mezzeh 601 military hospital in Damascus, a facility known for its role in the Syrian regime's torture apparatus. According to Human Rights Watch, the hospital's morgues and courtyard appeared in a cache of photographs that documented widespread, state-sponsored abuse of civilians. The images were smuggled out of Syria by a former Syrian military photographer code-named Caesar. Syrian lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who heads The Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research, a human rights group in Berlin that helped build the case against Alaa M, said he expected the court to respond to the prosecutor's demand for a life sentence without a possibility of parole. 'This was a doctor, not a security officer. He was expected to protect human life. Killing and torturing people was not his job, he did it voluntarily just due to his blind support for the Assad regime,' al-Bunni said.
AsiaOne
2 days ago
- Health
- AsiaOne
German court to deliver landmark verdict on Syrian doctor accused of torture, World News
BERLIN — A German court is set to deliver a verdict on Monday (June 16) in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity, including the torture of detainees at military hospitals in Syria, in a landmark trial following the collapse of the Assad regime. The trial of the 40-year-old doctor began in January 2022 at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, spanning over 186 sessions where the court listened to about 50 witnesses and victims, along with legal experts. The defendant, identified as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was accused of torturing opponents of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while serving as a physician at a military prison and hospitals in Homs and Damascus during 2011 and 2012. In court, Alaa M. pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy. The verdict will be the first to be handed down in a case involving former Syrians accused of state-backed torture since Assad was overthrown in December 2024. Germany has prosecuted several former Syrian officials in such cases in recent years. The Assad government denied it tortured prisoners. Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015 and worked as a doctor, becoming one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system. He was arrested in June 2020 and held in pre-trial detention. Prosecutors charged Alaa M. with over a dozen counts of torture and accused him of killing a prisoner. In one instance, he allegedly performed a bone fracture correction surgery without adequate anaesthesia. He is also accused of attempting to deprive prisoners of their reproductive capacity in two separate cases. The plaintiffs were supported by the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which has brought similar cases to German courts in the past. German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world. The doctor also worked at the Mezzeh 601 military hospital in Damascus, a facility known for its role in the Syrian regime's torture apparatus. According to Human Rights Watch, the hospital's morgues and courtyard appeared in a cache of photographs that documented widespread, state-sponsored abuse of civilians. The images were smuggled out of Syria by a former Syrian military photographer codenamed Caesar. Syrian lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who heads The Syrian Centre for Legal Studies and Research, a human rights group in Berlin that helped build the case against Alaa M., said he expected the court to respond to the prosecutor's demand for a life sentence without a possibility of parole. "This was a doctor, not a security officer. He was expected to protect human life. Killing and torturing people was not his job, he did it voluntarily just due to his blind support for the Assad regime," al-Bunni said. [[nid:715621]]
