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Accused in court (06.01.2022): Overwhelming burden of proof
Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa
A former fighter for the Islamist militia Ahrar al-Sham has been sentenced in Hamburg to two years and eleven months in prison under the juvenile criminal law.
The 27-year-old Syrian was found guilty of membership in a terrorist organization abroad.
The charge that the man was a member of Ahrar al-Sham in 2015 was undoubtedly confirmed, said Petra Wende-Spors, head of the State Security Senate at the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg.
The burden of proof is overwhelming.
The accused, who has been living as a refugee in Germany since 2016, had insisted to the end that there had been a mix-up with his brother.
According to the court, the accused had participated in the siege of two Shia villages in the north-west Syrian province of Idlib.
Together with his uncle, who was the commander of the combat unit, he took part in a propaganda video.
This was intended to urge the residents to capitulate.
Accused had weapons
When they failed to do so, Ahrar al-Sham launched a major offensive using rockets, artillery and car bombs.
The court could not clarify whether the defendant fought with it.
However, he had a grenade launcher and a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
The Attorney General's Office had demanded three years and three months in prison, the defense pleaded for acquittal, alternatively for a suspended sentence of a maximum of two years.
ptz/dpa
