Five Syrians will face trial before the Higher Regional Court in the German city of Koblenz starting from Nov. 19, for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria.
The higher Regional Court of Koblenz announced on Tuesday that the court’s state security chamber had accepted the indictment from the Federal Prosecutor General and opened the main proceedings.
The Syrian Palestinians, aged between 42 and 56, were accused of murder and attempted murder of civilians, as well as torture. They were also alleged on July 13, 2012, to have deliberately shot at people in Damascus.
The men were alleged to have actively participated in the Syrian civil war from 2012 to 2014 as members of armed militias loyal to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian intelligence service.
They were also accused of repeatedly physically abusing civilians at checkpoints, including striking them on the head with rifle butts.
The accused were arrested on July 3, 2024 and have been in pre-trial detention since then.
The arrests took place in Berlin, in Frankenthal in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and near the small town of Boizenburg in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
NAN