On Thursday February 23, a 55-year-old stateless man was sentenced in Berlin to life in prison for war crimes and for the deaths of at least four civilians in 2014 in Syria.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibault
In March 2014, Moafak D., a member of a government militia, fired an anti-tank grenade into a crowd waiting for food in the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk on the outskirts of Damascus. The Assad regime cordoned off the neighborhood and partly deprived the inhabitants of food, water and medical care. Moafak D., who was guarding a checkpoint, allegedly fired into the crowd in revenge for the death of his nephew two days earlier, probably killed by the Free Syrian Army fighting the Assad regime.
The indictment mentioned seven deaths. But the number of victims would have been “ much more important “, according to the judgment. Aged 55, Moafak D. was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes and the deaths of at least four civilians. His lawyers had pleaded acquittal, ensuring that their client was not there during the tragedy. The judgment also decided that the accused could not be released for 15 years because of the seriousness of his acts.
German justice has prosecuted Moafak D., who has lived in Berlin for five years, under the principle of universal jurisdiction which allows prosecution for war crimes or crimes against humanity, even if the national is not German and the acts were committed abroad.
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