"We have determined that a 58-year-old man should be prosecuted with charges of murder as a crime against humanity, and torture. Our prosecutors have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring seven offences under the International Criminal Court Act 2001."
"The accused was a member of Syrian airforce intelligence, when he was allegedly tasked with quelling demonstrations in the suburbs of Damascus. The charges relate to protests from April 2011, which were violently suppressed, sparking a civil war that eventually led to the overthrow of Assad's regime in December 2024."
"The Metropolitan police said the charges showed there was no safe haven for alleged war criminals in the UK. Germany has prosecuted several men for war crimes during the Syrian conflict, but this is the first time the Crown Prosecution Service has brought charges of murder and torture as crimes against humanity."
A 58-year-old former Syrian airforce intelligence officer who fled to the UK faces charges of three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, three counts of torture, and one count of conduct ancillary to murder. He is accused of playing a leading role in violently suppressing anti-regime protests in Damascus suburbs in April 2011, which sparked Syria's civil war. Arrested in Buckinghamshire in 2021, he is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court. This marks the first time the Crown Prosecution Service has brought such charges under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, demonstrating the UK's commitment to prosecuting alleged war criminals.
#war-crimes-prosecution #syrian-conflict #crimes-against-humanity #international-criminal-law #uk-justice-system
Read at www.theguardian.com
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