German Court To Rule In Case Of Syrian 'Torture' Doctor
Alaa Mousa, 40, is accused of torturing detainees at military hospitals in Damascus and Homs on 18 occasions between 2011 and 2012, including setting fire to a teenage boy's genitals.
The accused is also alleged to have administered a lethal injection to a patient who had resisted being beaten, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors have asked judges at the higher regional court in Frankfurt to hand down a life sentence in the case, which comes to a conclusion after Assad's ouster in December.
The accused denies all the charges against him.
Mousa arrived in Germany in 2015 on a visa for highly skilled workers at the same time as hundreds of thousands of Syrians were fleeing the civil war at home.
He continued to practise medicine in Germany, working as an orthopaedic doctor until he was arrested in June 2020.
A former employer told German media they knew nothing of his past in Syria's military hospitals, and that colleagues described him as someone who was "unremarkable".
According to prosecutors, Mousa worked at military hospitals in Homs and Damascus, where political opponents detained by the government were brought for treatment.
Instead of receiving medical assistance, the patients were tortured and "not infrequently killed", they said.
In one case, Mousa is accused of pouring flammable liquid on a prisoner's wounds before setting them on fire and kicking him in the face so hard that three of his teeth had to be replaced.
He also allegedly doused a teenage boy's genitals in alcohol before setting them alight.
Other inmates were kicked and beaten, sometimes with medical tools, according to prosecutors.
During the trial, the court heard testimony from colleagues and detainees, who said they recognised the accused, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.
One former inmate said he had been forced to carry the bodies of patients who had died after they were injected by Mousa, Der Spiegel reported.
Another witness said the military hospital where he was held in Damascus had been known as a "slaughterhouse".
At the opening of the trial in 2022, Mousa told the court he had witnessed beatings but denied striking patients himself.
The accused however said he was too afraid of the military police "in control" at the hospital to speak out.
"I felt sorry for them, but I couldn't say anything, or it would have been me instead of the patient," he said.
Germany has tried several supporters of Assad's regime under the legal principle of "universal jurisdiction", which allows for serious crimes to be prosecuted even if they were committed in a different country.
The first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria under the Assad government opened in Koblenz in 2020.
The accused in the trial, a former army colonel, was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in jail in 2022.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
9 minutes ago
- DW
Bear that killed runner in Italy moved to German sanctuary – DW – 07/20/2025
JJ4, the female bear that killed a jogger in Italy, has been relocated to a German wildlife sanctuary after months of legal battles. Previously, plans to euthanize her fueled intense public debate over animal welfare. A female brown bear, known as JJ4 or Gaia, that killed a jogger in Italy in 2023 has been relocated to a wildlife sanctuary in Germany. The move follows legal battles and protests, after the bear — originally set to be euthanized — became the center of a debate over human-wildlife conflict. The animal arrived early on Sunday morning at the Alternative Wolf and Bear Park in the Black Forest district of Freudenstadt. Staff at the sanctuary confirmed the bear, also known by the name Gaia, was transported from northern Italy overnight and appeared calm and in good condition upon arrival. "She has been cared for, has eaten and is behaving calmly," a park spokesperson said. JJ4 is expected to be moved into a secure pre-enclosure later in the day. JJ4 had been held at a wildlife holding facility near the city Trento in northern Italy since being captured last year. A search for the bear was launched after the body of 26-year-old Andrea Papi was found on April 6 in the woods of the Peller Mountain, where he had gone jogging. It was the first fatal bear attack in the country in modern history. After she was captured, Maurizio Fugatti, president of Trentino province, ordered her to be euthanized. However, legal challenges and protests from animal rights groups eventually led to a reversal of that decision. The German sanctuary agreed to take the bear under strict conditions. The transfer was kept secret until completion to avoid potential protests. The bear will live in a specially designed, one-hectare enclosure — surrounded by electric fencing and underground barriers. It was constructed at a cost of around one million euros (about $1.16 million), funded by private donations. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video JJ4 is expected to receive a new name, as "Gaia" is already assigned to another animal in the park. Park officials say surveillance systems will monitor the bear's activity as she adjusts to her new surroundings. Gaia's mother, Jurka, mother, has been housed at the animal sanctuary since 2010. The region of Trentino, once proud of its EU-funded "Life Ursus" reintroduction project, is now grappling with rising human-bear conflicts. In 2023, three bears were killed under new rules allowing targeted removals. The population has surged to around 100 since reintroduction efforts began near the turn of the millennium. JJ4 is the sister of "problem bear" Bruno (JJ1), shot in Bavaria in 2006, and of JJ3, killed in Switzerland. Though she had previously injured two people, courts had blocked efforts to remove her from the wild. After the fatal attack, courts repeatedly overturned orders for her euthanasia, allowing her to live.
Int'l Business Times
16 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Clashes, Homes Torched In South Syria's Sweida Despite Ceasefire
Smoke rose from burning houses in south Syria's Sweida on Saturday and an Arab tribal fighter vowed to "slaughter" residents as deadly clashes with Druze fighters persisted. Just hours earlier, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had announced an immediate ceasefire, but Bedouins and tribal fighters who are allied with the Syrian authorities pushed on in the west of the Druze-majority city. "Go forward, tribes!" said fighter Abu Jassem, addressing fellow combatants in the area, where the streets were largely deserted. "We will slaughter them in their homes," he said, referring to the Druze. The tribal fighters have converged on Sweida from other parts of Syria to support the Bedouins who have been clashing with Druze fighters since July 13. The violence has killed at least 940 people, according to a monitor. An AFP correspondent on Saturday saw dozens of torched homes and vehicles and armed men setting fire to shops after looting them. Some fighters, their faces covered, opened fire in the streets with automatic weapons while others moved around on vehicles and motorbikes. One fighter wore a black band around his head that bore the Islamic profession of faith. Another was carrying scissors, after footage in recent days showed fighters cutting the moustaches of Druze elderly and clergy, a grave insult to members of the minority community. The Druze, followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam, are regarded at best with suspicion by more hard-line Sunni Islamists who count among the ranks of Syria's new authorities. In Sweida city, where around 150,000 people live, residents have been holed up in their homes without electricity and water. Food supplies are scarce despite repeated appeals for humanitarian assistance, and communications have largely been cut off. Near the city's main hospital, an AFP photographer said bloated bodies were being taken for burial in a nearby pit as the morgue was overflowing. A doctor had told AFP that the facility had received more than 400 bodies. Security forces on Saturday were deploying in the province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos. Near a village north of Sweida, an AFP correspondent saw government forces deploying at a checkpoint and seeking in vain to prevent armed tribal fighters from advancing. Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba told AFP in the province's north that security forces were deploying "to protect public and private property and guarantee the security of civilians". Government forces were to "supervise the withdrawal of the tribes that were in battle with outlaw groups," he added, referring to Druze fighters. An AFP correspondent said some tribal fighters withdrew from the city on Saturday afternoon, and also reported armed men dragging bodies from a street. According to the United Nations, the fighting has displaced at least 87,000 people. One resident of the city who fled days earlier told AFP that "We have nothing left." "Most of the people we know -- our relatives and friends -- are dead," said the resident, requesting anonymity due to the security situation. "Sweida has been destroyed, and we are trying to keep our families away until this madness ends." Residents of Syria's majority-Druze city of Sweida have been holed up in their homes as the violence raged AFP Syria's security forces were deploying in Sweida province with the stated aim of protecting civilians and ending the chaos AFP
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Int'l Business Times
Syrian Druze Say Govt Mission Of Peace Devolved Into Rampage
The mainly Druze residents of the Syrian city of Sweida had hoped the arrival of government forces on Tuesday would spell an end to deadly sectarian clashes with local Bedouin tribes. Instead they spoke of executions, looting and arson as government troops and their allies rampaged through Druze neighbourhoods, prompting thousands from the religious minority to flee. "Government forces entered the city on the pretext of restoring order... but unfortunately they indulged in savage practices," said Rayan Maarouf, editor in chief of the Suwayda 24 news website. "There have been cases of civilians being killed... dozens of them... but we don't have precise figures," he added, blaming government fighters and their allies. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces executed 12 civilians in a guesthouse in the city, in just one incident among many said to have taken place in the area. Syria's defence minister had declared a "complete ceasefire" in the city late Tuesday morning, but locals said the announcement had little effect on the ground. An AFP correspondent who entered Sweida shortly after government forces reported dead bodies left lying on deserted streets as sporadic gunfire rang out. "I'm in the centre of Sweida. There are executions, houses and shops that have been torched, and robberies and looting," one Sweida resident holed up in his home told AFP by phone. "One of my friends who lives in the west of the city told me that they entered his home, chased out his family after taking their mobile phones and then set fire to it," added the resident, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution. AFP correspondents saw smoke rising over several areas of the city of some 150,000 people. Another resident said he had seen armed men in civilian clothes "looting shops and setting fire to them". "They're firing indiscriminately, I am afraid to leave the house," he said, adding that he regretted "not leaving before they arrived". It is a scenario that has played out multiple times since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in December. In each case, former rebels recruited into the new Syrian army were joined by fighters without any clear uniform, and violence against civilians ensued. The worst episode was in March, when more than 1,700 civilians were killed along Syria's Mediterranean coast -- most of them members of the ousted president's Alawite community -- in attacks carried out by government forces and their allies. On Tuesday, government forces entered Sweida with the stated aim of ending the sectarian violence that had claimed more than 100 lives earlier this week. But the Observatory, Druze leaders and witnesses said they entered the city accompanied by Bedouin fighters, and joined with them in attacking the Druze. One AFP video showed Bedouin fighters riding through the streets on a government tank, brandishing their weapons in celebration. The fighters toppled several statues in public squares, AFP images showed. Hardline Islamists believe such representations of the human form to be idolatrous. Unverified video footage circulating on social media showed armed men forcibly shaving off the moustache of an elderly Druze, a grave insult in the community. The Israeli military said it had carried out several air strikes on the forces that entered Sweida. An AFP correspondent saw one Syrian army vehicle in the city centre that had taken a direct hit. Several bodies were left dangling over its sides. The Israeli military said it was acting to protect the Druze, although some analysts have said that was a pretext for pursuing its own military goals. Thousands of the city's residents fled, seeking safety nearer the Jordanian border, Maarouf said. In the nearby village of Walgha, an AFP correspondent found a group of displaced civilians sheltering in a mosque. Syria's security forces and their allies were accused of going on a rampage after being deployed to the mainly Druze city of Sweida AFP Some residents reported houses and shops torched as government forces and their allies entered town AFP
