Office of the Attorney General - Suspected member of Syrian militia arrested in MV
The Federal Prosecutor's Office has arrested four suspected members of a Syrian militia - one of whom was in Boizenburg (Ludwigslust-Parchim district). In addition, a suspected employee of the Syrian intelligence service was arrested in Berlin. The Karlsruhe authority made the announcement. The arrested individuals are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes, as they are accused of killing and attempting to kill civilians. Four of them, including the one arrested in Boizenburg, are also accused of torture.
The four suspected individuals are said to have joined the "Free Palestine Movement" (FPM) group in Syria as early as 2011, which controlled a neighborhood in the capital Damascus on behalf of the Syrian regime, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office statement. The neighborhood of Jarmuk is said to have originated from a Palestinian refugee camp and was completely sealed off from July 2013.
The arrested individuals are said to have participated in the violent suppression of a peaceful demonstration against the Syrian government in 2012 and shot at demonstrators deliberately. At least six people reportedly died as a result. At checkpoints, they allegedly physically abused civilians. "The victims were beaten in the head with fists and rifle butts or treated with their feet," the highest German prosecutor's office further stated.
Arrests in Germany and Sweden
The arrests on Wednesday were not only in Boizenburg and Berlin, but also in Frankenthal in the Palatinate. In Essen, rooms of another suspect were searched, who is currently at large.
Simultaneously, three more people were arrested in Sweden. The Swedish Prosecutor's Office stated that there was a suspicion of crimes against international law, which were committed in Syria in 2012. The authority did not provide further details about the arrested individuals. However, it became clear from the statements of the Federal Prosecutor General that it concerned three more suspected members of the FPM militia, who were allegedly involved in the suppression of the demonstration in July 2012.
The arrested individuals in Germany will now be presented to the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice, who will issue the arrest warrant and decide on remand in custody. Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann stated that the men had to reckon with an indictment for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Germany.
The arrest of the Syrian militia member in Boizenburg falls under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Attorney General in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The suspected extremist has links to war crimes committed in Damascus, specifically against civilians during a peaceful demonstration in 2012. The secret service in Germany has been actively investigating these incidents of intentional killing, torture, and deliberate shooting of demonstrators.
The alleged crime syndicate also has connections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with suspected members operating in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. The war crimes allegedly include the violent suppression of civilians at checkpoints, where individuals were beaten and tortured. The suspicion of crimes against international law in Sweden is also a matter of concern for the international community, as more individuals associated with the Free Palestine Movement (FPM) militia are being apprehended.
The arrests in Karlsruhe, Berlin, and Boizenburg serve as a warning against extremist groups like the FPM, which has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The German government has made it clear that those responsible for such atrocities will face justice, regardless of their location. The Berlin arrest marked the involvement of the Syrian intelligence service in the crimes, further heating up the international response to the situation.
