Germany arrests two Syrians suspected of terrorist ties

The German Federal Prosecutor's Office announced the arrest of two Syrians on Thursday on suspicion of belonging to a "terrorist" group, with one believed to be a leader of a fighting unit that joined the Islamic State.

According to the General Prosecutor's Office responsible for terrorism cases, the two Syrians, identified as Amer A. and Basel A., were apprehended the previous day in their homes in Kiel in northern Germany and Munich in the south. They have been placed in temporary detention.

It is believed, as per the statement, that Amer A. formed the "Liwa Jund al-Rahman" fighting group in Deir ez-Zor province in February 2013. Its members were said to have "repeatedly engaged in battles against the Syrian army."

In June 2013, his fighters joined other jihadist groups in an attack on the Sunni-majority village of Hatla in eastern Syria's Deir ez-Zor province.

The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 60 people who supported the regime, while others were forced to flee.

According to the General Prosecutor's Office, Amer A. is suspected of committing "war crimes through forced displacement operations," which aimed to "eliminate any Shia presence in Hatla."

In 2014, he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State organization and placed his fighters and financial resources at its disposal.

As for Basel A., he is suspected of holding an "important military position" in the group between 2013 and 2014.

It is believed that he led combat units involved in battles against the Syrian army, particularly at the military airport of Deir ez-Zor, according to the General Prosecutor's Office.

Germany has arrested and prosecuted several Syrians on its territory for alleged crimes committed in their home country, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction to address war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In this context, in January 2022, the German judiciary sentenced a former Syrian intelligence officer, Anwar Raslan, to life in prison for his involvement in war crimes. He was held responsible for the deaths of at least 27 detainees and the torture of at least four thousand others in a secret regime prison in Damascus between 2011 and 2012.

This was the world's first case related to atrocities attributed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.



AFP