Syrian doctor trialed in Germany accused of torture in military hospitals
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A Syrian doctor has gone on trial in Germany accused of crimes against humanity during his work in military hospitals in Syria.
Alaa Mousa, who worked at a military intelligence prison in the Syrian city of Homs from April 2011 until late 2012, is accused of torturing and killing inmates at a government-run prison and two military hospitals, German prosecutors said.
He is accused of killing one person and 18 counts of torture, as well as causing serious physical and psychological harm to others.
The regional court in Frankfurt heard that he used his power as a doctor to “suppress the uprising of a part of the Syrian population.”
The defendant, who has been in pretrial detention since his arrest in June 2020, has denied the allegations.
The suspect arrived in Germany in 2015 and was allowed to practice medicine under his Syrian medical credentials. Mousa worked at a health center near Kassel, where he was recognized by multiple Syrian nationals reported to German police.
His trial comes after another German court last week sentenced a former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan to life in jail for overseeing the murder of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at a Damascus detention center a decade ago.