An alleged former member of a Syrian pro-government militia has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of crimes against humanity related to the abuse and torture of civilians in the early years of his country’s civil war, prosecutors said Thursday.
The man, identified only as Ahmad H. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in Bremen on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said. He is suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes by torture and enslavement.
Between 2012 and 2015, the suspect was a local leader of a militia loyal to the government of President Bashar Assad in the Damascus suburb of Tadamon that was tasked with working with Syrian military intelligence to repress attempts at opposition, prosecutors said in a statement.
Germany’s application of the rule of “universal jurisdiction,” allowing the prosecution of serious crimes committed abroad, led last year to the first conviction of a senior Syrian official for crimes against humanity.
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