Inside the Alaa M. Trial #89: Propaganda’s Lemmings
Higher Regional Court – Frankfurt, Germany
Trial Monitoring Summary #89
Hearing Date: November 12, 2024
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 89th trial monitoring report details day 159 of the trial of Alaa M. in Frankfurt, Germany. On this trial day, the Court had to fill the hearing because the summoned witness was sick and could not attend the session. Mr. Farrag presented his translation of the notes taken by P52 from [redacted name]’s voice messages. The Judges then inquired about several violent posts and messages Alaa M. had sent and published on Facebook, among others that bodies will be “defiled” and “donkey and pig people [...] should be burned in the oven.” Alaa M. tried to convince the Judges that these statements were only directed at ISIS fighters and that he did not want them killed but only detained. He claimed to have been influenced by the regime’s propaganda.
Day 159 – November 12, 2024
Judge Koller began the single session this week by informing the parties that the scheduled witness, [redacted name] [P54], was unable to attend due to illness and had submitted a sick note. Before the Court could discuss other matters, a fire alarm interrupted the proceedings. The court building had to be evacuated.
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[20-minutes-break]
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After everyone re-entered the building, Judge Koller read the senate’s decision to deny an application to take evidence submitted by the Defense on March 31, 2023. The application sought to take as evidence the asylum case files of P4 from [redacted location], P1 from [redacted location], and P11 from [redacted location]. It was denied because it did not meet the requirements for an application to take evidence under Section 244 (3) of the German Code of Criminal Procedure, as it did not address a specific fact and showed no clear connection to the Alaa M. trial.
The Accused was visibly not feeling well and appeared to be crying. Judge Koller asked him if he needed a break, to which he replied that he was okay.
The Court then heard Mr. Farrag as a linguistic expert regarding his translation of the notes taken by P52 from [redacted name]’s voice messages. [Note: For more details on P52’s testimony, please see Trial Report #88.] The notes strongly aligned with P52’s testimony in Court and described the same instances P52 had mentioned. They included an indirect quote from the man in the [redacted information], in which he questioned why he was taken to the operating room [redacted information], and detailed [redacted information] as the cause of death. No one had further questions for Mr. Farrag, and he was thanked and dismissed.
Judge Koller then asked Alaa M. whether he felt capable of answering unresolved questions regarding his Facebook chats and posts. Alaa M. affirmed. [Note: These chats and posts were already discussed on trial days 145 and 146. For more details, please see Trial Report #81.] Judge Rhode asked why Alaa M. seemed to use Facebook Messenger less after the beginning of 2012. Alaa M. explained that, due to the conflict, there were power cuts in Syria, and he often lacked an internet connection, so he began using mobile communication more.
Judge Rhode also inquired why Alaa M. had messaged a friend, offering to help her brother with confirmation of attendance for Homs Military Hospital. The Accused explained that final-year medicine students were required to work a certain number of hours in a hospital, and they could do this at Homs Military Hospital because the university did not have its own hospital. Attendance was recorded by second- or third-year doctors, like him, and submitted to their superior. Alaa M. explained that due to the civil war, many students could not complete their hospital hours. He clarified that he messaged his friend to offer to connect her with people he knew from Homs Military Hospital, such as the senior physician [redacted name] or second-year doctor [redacted name]. He emphasized that he was not in touch with anyone from Homs Military Hospital back then, but since he had left the hospital recently, he thought he could still reconnect with them.
The Judges confronted the Accused with several violent posts and messages he had sent and published on Facebook. These included quotes like: “God willing, they will defile the bodies of Al-Pasha”; “Yes to field executions, yes to the mass destruction of terrorism”; and “Donkey and pig people, they should be burned in the oven.” Alaa M. tried to convince the Judges that these statements were directed solely at ISIS and did not indicate support for killing them. He claimed he wanted them arrested and brought to justice instead. He also suggested that he may have been influenced by regime propaganda and reposted information without thinking critically. Judge Koller expressed disbelief at this explanation. He confronted Alaa M. with a post from 2015, in which the Accused wrote, “Council of lice and not of security. It needs to be crushed by the lions of the Arab Syrian Army.” Judge Koller asked if this post could have related to a Security Council resolution from a few weeks prior, in which the Security Council condemned the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against its civilians. Alaa M. tried to deny this assessment, claiming he does not remember publishing the post.
Last, the parties agreed to the self-reading procedure of a note regarding the termination of proceedings against [redacted name]. Judge Koller explained that P4 had made claims about received threats, after which a formal investigation was opened against [redacted name] and then terminated by the Prosecutor in Frankfurt am Main.
The proceedings were adjourned at 2:34PM.
The next trial day will be on December 3, 2024, at 10:00AM.
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