War crimes trial against Syrian doctor opened

Created: 01/19/2022 10:28 am

A figure of the blind Justitia.

© Sonja Wurtscheid/dpa/symbol image

A war crimes trial against a Syrian doctor began on Wednesday before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Frankfurt am Main.

The federal prosecutor accuses Alaa M. of crimes against humanity.

According to the indictment, between April 2011 and the end of 2012 he worked as a resident doctor in a military hospital in the Syrian city of Homs.

There, as well as in another military hospital in Damascus and in the prison of the Syrian military secret service in Homs, he is said to have tortured detained civilians who were attributed to the opposition to ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Frankfurt/Main - The federal prosecutor has accused M. of torture in 18 cases, as well as murder and serious bodily harm.

The doctor is said to have intentionally killed a prisoner with an injection.

He is said to have kicked, hit and beaten prisoners with a baton.

The Syrian exile activist and journalist Sakher Edris, who traveled from Paris to the trial, said in Frankfurt that trials about state torture in Syria before German courts were a spark of hope for the relatives of the people who disappeared in Syria after being arrested by security forces.

Before the trial began on Wednesday, a group of Syrians drew attention to the uncertain fate of missing opposition figures and human rights violations in Syria.

more on the subject

Torture allegations against Syrian doctor: trial in Frankfurt

State torture in Syria: Defense calls for acquittal

Verdict expected in Syria's first state torture trial

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the world's first criminal case involving state torture in Syria before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court came to an end only last week.

Syrian Anwar R. was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.

The verdict is not yet legally binding.

dpa