Germany Arrests Five Suspected Of War Crimes In Syria

German police arrested four stateless Syrian Palestinians and one Syrian national suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria about 10 years ago, prosecutors said. 

Jihad A., Mahmoud A., Sameer S., and Wael S., are suspected to have had ties to the Free Palestine Movement in Syria. Mazhar J. is suspected to have been a Syrian Intelligence Officer, according to prosecutors.

As per the statement, these arrested persons were strongly suspected of killing and attempting to kill civilians. This made them qualified as crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Jihad A., Mazhar J., and Sameer S. were arrested in Berlin, Mahmoud A. in Frankenthal, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Wael S. in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to prosecutors.

They are suspected of participating in a violent crackdown on a peaceful anti-government protest in Al Yarmouk in July 2012. Prosecutors said civilian protesters were targeted and shot at, resulting in six deaths and serious injuries to others, Reuters reported.

According to prosecutors, the suspected militia members allegedly punched, kicked, and beat civilians with rifle butts at checkpoints between 2012 and 2014.

They also stated that one individual was handed over to the Syrian Military Intelligence Service for imprisonment and torture. Additionally, one suspect is accused of delivering three people to authorities who were subsequently killed in a mass execution of 41 civilians in April 2013.

Germany's universal jurisdiction laws enabled the arrests, allowing courts to prosecute crimes against humanity worldwide. Authorities collaborated with Sweden in a joint investigation.

In a separate statement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority reported arresting three people in Sweden for crimes against international law in Syria in 2012.