5 days ago
Verdict expected in Paris trial of former Syrian rebel spokesman
A verdict is expected to be issued on Wednesday in the month-long trial of a former spokesman of Syrian rebel group Jaish Al Islam.
In his last statement to the jury before it withdrew to deliberate, Majdi Nema, 36, reiterated his innocence but did not address the charges that have been issued against him. He is accused of complicity in the group's war crimes and risks 20 years in prison.
Mr Nema, who has spent five years in pretrial detention in France after his arrest in the southern city of Marseille, said he wants to return to his studies.
'I want to return to Syria and work on punishing all those responsible of crimes, whatever their allegiance,' he said, in a reference to Syria's new rulers which have integrated rebel groups like Jaish Al Islam into the Defence Ministry.
The recent change in Syrian leadership and the fall of the Assad regime in December after more than five decades at the helm of the country dominated the trial.
The prosecution requested that the jury drop charges of complicity in the war crime of enrolment and conscription of minors, which may reduce the sentence by half in the case of conviction.
Syrians who testified at the trial said they felt divided over the fate of Mr Nema, who left Jaish Al Islam in 2016. Speaking anonymously out of fear for their safety, one said that he had 'paid enough' by spending five years in pretrial detention and that he cared little if he was released now.
Anas Al Kholi, a civil party in the case who was imprisoned by Jaish Al Islam, said that he hoped he would get the maximum sentence because of his prominent role in the group which likely involved information about its crimes.
Mr Nema was initially arrested for charges involving the disappearance of four prominent human rights activists who were likely kidnapped by Jaish Al Islam in a Damascus suburb in 2013. Those charges were dropped in 2023, largely for procedural reasons.
Syrian activists had hoped that Mr Nema would give information about their fate at the trial, which did not happen. Jaish Al Islam has always rejected accusations of involvement in their disappearance. Relatives, some of whom believe they were killed in captivity, say they have proof that senior officials ordered the kidnapping but that the leadership was informed after it happened.
