Syrian man arrested in Germany for alleged crimes committed in Syria

 According to Reuters, German police arrested a Syrian refugee suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, during the first year of the Syrian crisis in 2011, in the city of Aleppo, prosecutors reported.

Prosecutors stated that in eight separate incidents during April and November 2011, following Friday prayers the suspect and other individuals accompanying him assaulted civilians with batons, metal pipes, and other tools to disperse protests. They added in their statement that the suspect also used electric shocks.

According to prosecutors, some of the protesters were handed over to the police and intelligence services, where they were subjected to severe abuse during detention, and one of the protesters reportedly died.

The suspect, identified as Anwar S. in accordance with German privacy laws, was the commander of an armed group operating in Aleppo that was affiliated with the former regime.

Previously, a German court had issued a life sentence against a leader of a Syrian armed group that supported the former regime, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the years of conflict in Syria. These prosecutions are made possible under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecutors to pursue cases involving crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.

ANHA