A German court has sentenced a Syrian doctor to life imprisonment for torturing opponents of former president Bashar al-Assad, following a protracted trial in Frankfurt that spanned more than three years.
Dr Alaa Mousa arrived in Germany in 2015, where he practised as an orthopaedic surgeon until his arrest in 2020, after being identified by fellow Syrian refugees. They testified that he had served in military hospitals in Damascus and Homs. According to Agence France-Presse, he faced charges relating to multiple crimes against detainees in those hospitals during Syria’s civil war.
The 40-year-old physician denied all charges, which included administering a fatal injection to a detainee who resisted beatings and burning the genitals of a teenage boy. In delivering the verdict, Judge Christoph Koller stated that Mousa had “killed two individuals and caused severe injuries to nine others,” adding that these acts occurred in 2011 and 2012 “as part of the brutal response of Assad’s dictatorial and unjust regime” to anti-government demonstrations.
Judge Koller condemned the defendant’s actions as “serious human rights violations” and underlined that the ruling sends a clear message: “the victims’ suffering has not been forgotten.” He also noted that despite the passage of 12 years, the Assad regime – up until its collapse in December 2024 – sought to interfere with the trial, including issuing threats against the families of witnesses.
Given the gravity of the crimes, the sentence includes a provision that precludes early release before a to-be-determined period, with a minimum term of 15 years.
The trial, which began on 19 January 2022 under tight security, heard testimony from more than fifty witnesses and victims.
Many testified under disguise, citing threats and intimidation aimed at their families in Syria, as the shadow of the Syrian intelligence apparatus loomed over the proceedings. The atmosphere notably improved after the fall of Assad’s regime in December 2024 and the former president’s flight to Russia.
One witness, a former officer from Aleppo in his forties, recounted his imprisonment in November 2011 after he refused to open fire on demonstrators. He testified to seeing Mousa inject detainees lying on the hospital floor, who subsequently died.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Koller declared: “No torturer, regardless of where the crime was committed, is guaranteed impunity. They must always expect to be held accountable for their actions.”
German courts have previously prosecuted and convicted individuals for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed beyond their borders, particularly involving Syrians and Iraqis, under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Just two weeks earlier, another German court sentenced the leader of a pro-Assad group to life imprisonment for murder, torture, and unlawful detention carried out between 2012 and 2014.
In the first trial in Germany addressing atrocities committed under Assad’s regime, former Syrian intelligence colonel Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life in January 2022 for the murder of 27 detainees and the torture of at least 4,000 others at the Al-Khatib prison during 2011 and 2012.
Several other trials concerning crimes committed in Syria are ongoing across Europe, particularly in France and Sweden.
The Syrian conflict, which erupted after peaceful protests were violently crushed in 2011, has claimed over half a million lives, displaced millions, and devastated the country’s economy and vital infrastructure.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
