Arrest of a suspected member of a Syrian Government militia on strong suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Washington, DC:
August/3/2023
German authorities arrested a Syrian suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. The arrest was based on an investigation by the Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) which uncovered potentially incriminating evidence ” Said SJAC in a statement today.
In May 2020, SJAC received a report from a witness stating that an alleged perpetrator named Ahmad H., nicknamed “The Trix (Bulldozer),” was living in Germany. Ahmad, who was active in the Tadamon area, south of Damascus, is suspected of being one of the most dangerous criminals from the National Defense Militia. After leaving Syria, the suspect sought asylum in Germany and has been hiding there ever since.
During its investigation, SJAC analyzed all available data, searched for relevant witnesses, and sifted through open-source evidence. SJAC was able to find two relevant witnesses and collected their testimonies.
In early 2022, SJAC informed the Special Unit at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) about the suspect and shared the relevant data with them. In 2023, SJAC obtained video evidence further showing the suspect participating in violations.
At this stage, SJAC is unable to share additional details on the information provided to the German authorities.
SJAC’s team hopes that the trial will bring some redress and closure to the victims of these crimes.
SJAC thanks the office of the Federal Public Prosecutor and the German Federal Police for their diligent work on the case and looks forward to the eventual trial.
For the official statement from the German Federal Public Prosecutor, click here.
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