German court sentences pro-Assad militia member to 10-year prison

A German court sentenced a former pro-Assad militia member to 10 years in prison on Wednesday for war crimes committed during the Syrian conflict.

The Higher Regional Court in Hamburg found the 47-year-old Syrian citizen guilty of mistreatment, torture, forced labor, and threatening civilian lives during the fighting.

According to prosecutors, as a district leader of the Shabiha militia operating under Assad's orders, he committed various crimes, including arbitrarily detaining civilians and forcing them to carry sandbags for government forces while they were exposed to enemy fire.

The conviction relied heavily on the testimony of over 25 witnesses, including former victims who described systematic mistreatment. The accused denied all the allegations.

The ex-militia member entered Germany as an asylum seeker in 2016 and was recognized by a former Syrian victim at a Bremen refugee shelter. He was arrested in August 2023 following an investigation by German federal prosecutors.

Germany's unique legislation, the "Code of Crimes against International Law," gives courts universal jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity, allowing them to launch a full investigation even if the crimes were committed outside of German territory.