Syrian Doctor Sentenced to Life for Atrocities Committed During Syrian Civil War
A German court has sentenced a Syrian doctor, Alaa Mousa, to life in prison for crimes against humanity due to his involvement in the torture of detainees at military hospitals under former ruler Bashar al-Assad. The presiding judge at the higher regional court in Frankfurt, Christoph Koller, stated that Mousa’s actions were part of a brutal response by Assad's dictatorial regime during the Syrian civil war.
Mousa, aged 40, faced allegations of torturing patients at military hospitals in Damascus and Homs on 18 separate occasions between 2011 and 2012. The severity of his crimes is underscored by shocking testimonies, including one instance where he is accused of setting fire to the genitals of a teenage boy. Another detainee, who resisted being beaten, reportedly received a lethal injection at his hands.
In addition to crimes against humanity, the court found Mousa guilty of murder, torture, and war crimes. Throughout the trial, which unfurled months after Assad’s deposition in December 2024, Mousa maintained his innocence. He arrived in Germany in 2015, under a visa intended for highly skilled workers, coinciding with a significant influx of Syrians fleeing the civil war. Surprisingly, he continued to practice medicine in Germany as an orthopaedic doctor until his arrest in June 2020.
A former employer noted they were unaware of Mousa's past in Syria's military hospitals, while colleagues described him as rather unremarkable. However, prosecutors contended that during his time at military hospitals in Homs and Damascus, he treated political opponents detained by the government, who were often subjected to torture instead of receiving appropriate medical assistance.
In harrowing testimony shared during the trial, one witness recalled how the military hospital they were confined to in Damascus had gained a reputation as a 'slaughterhouse.' In opening statements from the trial in 2022, Mousa acknowledged witnessing acts of violence yet denied he had ever physically assaulted patients. He claimed fear of the military police controlling the hospital silenced him, stating, 'I felt sorry for them but I couldn’t say anything, or it would have been me instead of the patient.'
The verdict serves as a significant milestone in the ongoing pursuit of justice for victims of the Syrian civil war, reflecting the broader implications of accountability for war crimes on an international scale.
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