Former Syrian officer faces trial in Sweden on war crimes charges

A former Syrian officer is standing trial in Stockholm, Sweden, facing charges of committing war crimes in Syria in 2012, according to the indictment revealed by Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.

Mohammed Hamou (65 years old), a resident of Sweden, is accused of participating between January 1 and July 20, 2012, in carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes in the cities of Hama and Homs and their outskirts.

These strikes executed both aerially and on the ground, showed no distinction between civilians and military targets, according to the indictment.

As a result, the strikes did not adhere to the principle of proportionality concerning the targeted military location, as deemed by the public prosecutor, Carolina Wieslander.

The indictment further stated that Mohammed Hamou, through his assigned role, was an accomplice in these crimes.

He specifically made decisions related to arming operational units and was responsible for executing various military operations during this period.

Seven civilian parties, including Syrians from the affected cities, will testify during the trial, along with a British photographer injured during one of the mentioned strikes in the indictment.

AFP