For the first time someone in Belgium has been charged with serious violations of international humanitarian law for crimes committed during the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011. The news comes from the federal public prosecutor's office.
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First indictment in Belgium for war crimes under Assad’s regime in Syria
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The man in question was indicted and arrested a few days ago. He is charged in connection with crimes against humanity and war crimes between 2011 and 2016 under the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"Raids at the suspect's home in Brussels, as well as at the addresses of two companies linked to him were carried out on Tuesday," the federal prosecutor's spokesman Eric Van Duyse explains. "The suspect appeared before a Brussels examining judge on Wednesday, when he was charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria between 2011 and 2016. He was also arrested."
According to judicial sources, the suspect was the leader of a militia in Salamiyah, a town in western Syria, and acted as an executioner under the command of Bashar al-Assad. In that capacity, he allegedly tortured and killed countless people.