A Syrian doctor living in Germany has been charged with crimes against humanity after being accused of 18 counts of torturing people in military hospitals in the Syrian cities of Homs and Damascus.
A Jurist report notes that the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe said Alla Mousa, who moved to Germany in 2015, is accused of 18 counts of torturing people in these military hospitals, including allegations that he tried to make people infertile. Mousa had been practising medicine in Germany before he was arrested. The office said the crimes were committed after the beginning of the opposition uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011, where protesters were frequently arrested and tortured.
In February, a German court convicted a former member of Assad’s secret police of facilitating the torture of prisoners and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison. This was the first time that a court outside Syria had ruled in a case alleging Syrian Government officials committed crimes against humanity.
The founder of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, Wolfgang Kaleck, said Mousa’s trial means the role of military hospitals and medical staff in the system could be tackled for the first time and mentioned its importance in terms of addressing sexual violence as an oppressive tool.
Jurist report – Syria doctor living in Germany charged with crimes against humanity
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