German prosecutors charge man with war crimes in Syria

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – German prosecutors said that a man accused of launching a grenade attack on civilians queued for food in 2014 was charged with war crimes against humanity.

On April 14, German federal prosecutors said in a statement that the stateless man, who identified only as Moafak D. in line with German privacy rules, was a member of the Free Palestine Movement, a groups that controlled the Yarmouk district of the Syrian capital on behalf of the Syrian government.

The prosecutors added that on March 23, 2014, the accused threw a grenade from an anti-tank weapon into a crowd of civilians waiting for food aid from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. 

The suspect’s attack claimed the lives of seven people and wounded three others, including a six-year-old child.

After arresting him in Berlin on August 4 and to date, the prosecutors haven’t said how or when he came to Germany.

The accused has been charged at a regional court in Berlin with war crimes, seven counts of murder, three of attempted murder and three of bodily harm.

In a similar event, in January, the first conviction of a senior Syrian official for crimes against humanity took place on the German Soil.  

Germany’s application of the rule of “universal jurisdiction,” allowed its federal prosecution to pursue suspects accused of committing serious crimes abroad. 

The court will now have to decide whether to bring Moafak D.’s case to trial.