Inside the Alaa M. Trial #101: Al-Mazzeh 601: A Slaughterhouse, Not A Hospital

TRIAL OF ALAA M.

Higher Regional Court – Frankfurt, Germany

Trial Monitoring Summary #101

Hearing Date: March 20, 2025

CAUTION: Some testimony includes descriptions of torture.   

Note that this summary is not a verbatim transcript of the trial; it is merely an unofficial summary of the proceedings.  

Throughout this summary, [information located in brackets are notes from our trial monitor] and “information placed in quotes are statements made by the witness, Judges or counsel.” The names and identifying information of witnesses have been redacted.  

[Note: SJAC continues to provide a summary of the proceedings while redacting certain details to protect witness privacy and to preserve the integrity of the trial.]

SJAC’s 101st trial monitoring report details day 180 of the trial of Alaa M. in Frankfurt, Germany. During the session, a video about the Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada was shown in Arabic with English subtitles and translated into German by the linguistic expert Ms. Birgit Kühn, P10. Al-Hamada gave an impressive account of severe torture. He reported broken ribs, sexual violence, and abuse in Military Hospital 601, where he was assigned the number 1858. “601 is not a hospital, it's a slaughterhouse,” he said. His testimony ended with the sentence: “My family is currently missing because of Bashar al-Assad.”

Following the video evidence, an article from the regional newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung was read out, which described al-Hamada's death just four days before the fall of the regime as a symbolic moment. His funeral procession was presented as a tribute to the revolution. In addition, a video examined by the BKA with reference to military hospitals and the Accused was discussed. Defense Counsel Endres ended the session with an empty remark to which no one reacted.

Day 180 – March 20, 2025

At the beginning of the session, Alaa M. was wearing an FFP-2 Covid mask because he had a cold. Although he was already on the road to recovery, he did not want to infect anyone. The Presiding Judge described this behavior as very reasonable and considerate.

Next, Birgit Kühn, P10, linguistic expert for the English language, was called to the witness stand and legally instructed by the Presiding Judge. The Presiding Judge also explained the issue that, although everyone understood the English-language evidence, the German Code of Criminal Procedure required a translation in the interest of due process. A video was then shown, in Arabic with English subtitles, and translated into German by Ms. Kühn.

The documentary focused on the story of Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, who had worked for a French company and came from a politically left-leaning middle-class family that actively opposed the regime. In the video, al-Hamada recounted his experiences and described the beginning of the protests in 2011 with statements such as: “When you saw the demonstrations, your heart rose,” or “People started using their brains, which was previously forbidden.”

In March 2012, Mazen and some friends delivered baby food to a besieged neighborhood, after which they were arrested by security forces. He was initially taken to a security unit in al-Mazzeh near the airport.

He also reported on the torture: “They put me on the floor and broke my ribs.” He continued, “They hung me up by the window and beat me.” and added, “I was naked and they put a screw clamp with a handle around my penis, which they then tightened until it felt like the penis was being cut off. And from behind, someone was shoving a rod into my anus.” Al-Hamada recalled that he was so badly injured by the torture that he urinated blood. He was also forced under torture to make a false confession. When asked what Mazen thought about these people, he said that God and the law would hold them accountable, and that he and his murdered friends would receive justice.

In the video, Al-Hamada further explained that abuse also took place in hospitals. Once, when he had been beaten so badly that he urinated blood, he was taken to Hospital 601. There, he was given the number 1858. Corpses were on the floor in the bathroom. He had the feeling he was going mad. He concluded: 601 was not a hospital, but a slaughterhouse. Furthermore, he said: “When I was asked my name, I said: Mazen al-Hamada. The security guard said: No, your name is 1858. He asked me again: What is your name? And I answered him: 1858.” Mazen al-Hamada was released after 18 months in prison, but many of his family members were still detained. He did not know whether they were still alive: “My family is currently missing because of Bashar al-Assad.”

After the translation of the video, Mrs. Kühn was dismissed without being sworn in.

Afterwards, a printed article from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, dated December 13, 2024, about Mazen al-Hamada, was read out. Since al-Hamada died just a few days before the fall of the regime, his funeral procession in Damascus was described as a celebration of victory over the regime and a tribute to the revolution – with old and new slogans, including the well-known chant from the early days of the Syrian revolution: “The people want the fall of the regime” (الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام). A participant in the funeral procession was quoted in the article: “Al-Hamada died for a revolution that might still succeed.”

The article also described al-Hamada's biography after his first arrest. He was forced to make a false confession under torture, admitting to bogus accusations such as “possession of weapons, murder, coup d’état, terrorism.” He later fled to the Netherlands, where he became a key witness. However, in 2020, he returned to Syria after being deceived by false promises from the regime that relatives of his would be released from prison. Mazen al-Hamada died four days before the fall of the regime. According to a forensic pathologist, he died from a form of violent electric shock, and an examination revealed that both of his wrists had been broken. The article concluded with the sentence: “2011 was when Syrians could not have imagined the suffering that Bashar al-Assad would cause them for the next 13 years.”

After reading out the article, the Presiding Judge asked the parties whether the translation of a video from Halab Today TV, which had been reviewed as documentary evidence by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on August 13, 2020, should also be read out. Although the video itself was not played, it contained passages referring to the Military Hospital in Homs and to the Accused. Topics mentioned in the article included events in Qalaat al-Husn, as well as current displacements and tragedies.

Defense Counsel Endres ended the session with a remark: “I also chair a colloquium at Goethe University Frankfurt. What we saw today is hard to bear and barely comprehensible. This trial is an eloquent example of that.” None of the parties responded to the statement. Judging by their facial expression and behavior, they found this comment irritating.

The proceedings were adjourned at 10:38 AM.

The next trial day will be on April 3, 2025, at 10:00 AM.

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