BERLIN: Local officials said on Thursday that German police have captured a Syrian citizen on charges of war crimes including crimes against humanity for allegedly taking part in a cruel crackdown on opposition.
In a statement, German prosecutor’s office said that the accused, identified only as Ahmad H. had been arrested on July 26 in city of Bremen. Ahmad H. was remanded in police custody on Thursday.
Germany Arrests Syrian Citizen on War Crimes Charges
Ahmad H. is accused of acting between 2012 and 2015 during civil war in Syria as a local leader of pro-government militia in Damascus tasked with helping to crush opposition.
The group operated security checkpoints where “citizens were arrested randomly so that they or their family members could be extorted for money”.
Local officials said that the fighters also stolen the houses of government opponents, sold the loots and kept the incomes.
According to AP, in 2014, Ahmad H. and men of the army secret service allegedly assaulted a civilian at a security checkpoint, clutching him by the hair and pounding his head on the roadway.
However, it was uncertain when the accused came to Germany. A spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office refused to provide further information.
Germany had earlier used the principle of worldwide jurisdiction, which permits the prosecution of several grave crimes about of where they occurred, to try Syrian citizens over atrocities committed during the civil war.
The civil war in Syria broke out in 2011 with the ruthless repression of anti-government protest demonstrations. It has since evolved into a very complex conflict involving foreign countries and militants has killed over half a million people and displaced millions.
