The man who lives in Blekinge is said to have joined the Islamic State (IS) sometime in May or June 2015. In the Syrian city of Al-Sawana, he is said to have committed several serious war crimes. Almost exactly a year ago he was arrested in his absence, the next day he was arrested.
This week, the trial began in Attunda district court, where the prosecutor has presented his view of what happened and the 51-year-old has been heard. Several witnesses have also shared their stories.
The trial is expected to last until mid-April.
– We had to postpone a witness hearing, we are a little behind but we will probably have time to make up for that, says chamber prosecutor Reena Devgun.
Walked around armed with IS uniform
In the spring of 2015, the terrorist group Islamic State captured the city of Al-Sawana in central Syria. Shortly after the evening prayer, IS drove into the city in pickup trucks and took over. The 51-year-old man is said to have been sitting in one of the cars.
Along with other IS supporters, they arrived in pickup trucks and fired a machine gun into the air before driving around the city trumpeting that IS had taken over.
The man is now being charged with two counts of war crimes that allegedly occurred after the takeover. In a report from the International Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), the accused 51-year-old is singled out as a member of IS. Among other things, he is said to have walked around in an IS uniform and was armed according to several witnesses.
According to the indictment, the 51-year-old allegedly brought two men with their hands tied behind their backs and blindfolded to Suweiss Square in the city of Al-Swana. The men are said to have belonged to the Syrian army and the 51-year-old is said to have led them to an execution site, where they were shot to death with several shots in front of onlookers, including children.
On another occasion, the 51-year-old allegedly helped drag a person behind a car before tying the person to a lamp post. There, the person was beaten with a metal pipe so severely that parts of the face and eye were removed.
He was rumored to be an IS leader
Several witnesses also state in CIJA’s report that the man must have been a leader within IS.
“He openly showed that he was an IS member, was seen giving food to other IS members and there were rumors that he served as an emir (leader) within IS,” writes CIJA in the report. Also on social media, a user singled out the man as a leader within the terrorist group.
The man is also singled out as being responsible for the phosphate mines in the area. There, he is said to have ordered the arrest of several people who opposed him.
The investigation has taken place in collaboration with authorities from Belgium and Germany.
– The indictment concerns very serious crimes committed during the war in Syria. The investigation has been extensive and complicated and interrogations have been carried out in several different countries, said District Attorney Reena Devgun when the indictment was presented.