ATHENS: Greek police have arrested on an international warrant a 36-year-old fugitive convicted of robbery in Israel and under investigation over a bomb attack there after a tip-off by Israeli authorities, they said on Saturday.
The Israeli man was wanted by Israel in order to serve a 25-month prison sentence on robbery charges, police said in a statement. He was also under investigation in Israel “for his involvement in an attempted homicide through a bomb attack against another person,” they said.
According to court documents, police were alerted by Interpol on Aug. 5 that a “red notice” had been issued against the defendant on behalf of Israel. The notice said that he was traveling on a forged passport.
Police found that he had arrived in Greece on July 20 using the fake document. He was arrested outside a restaurant at a Jewish synagogue in central Athens on Aug. 6, police said.
The man has appeared before Greek prosecutors who have ordered his detention, the court documents said.
Greek police arrest Israeli national on international warrant
https://arab.news/wa24u
Greek police arrest Israeli national on international warrant
- The Israeli man was wanted by Israel in order to serve a 25-month prison sentence on robbery
- Police were alerted by Interpol on Aug. 5 that a “red notice” had been issued against the defendant
Ex-Syrian intelligence officer appears in UK court charged with crimes against humanity
LONDON: A former member of Syria's Air Force Intelligence attended a British court hearing via videolink on Tuesday charged with crimes against humanity and torture relating to the suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Damascus in 2011.
Salem Michel Al-Salem, 58, who now lives in Britain, appeared virtually at the hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court from his home. He was wearing a breathing apparatus mask and the court was told he suffered from degenerative motor neurone disease.
Al-Salem is charged with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity relating to deaths in April and July 2011 "as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population with knowledge of the attack".
He is also accused of three charges of torture relating to incidents in 2011 and 2012, and one of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. He did not speak during the hearing and there was no indication as to how he would plead.
His lawyer Sean Caulfield told the court that Al-Salem was too unwell to confirm his name.
The seven charges were brought under a British law that allows the prosecution of serious international crimes committed abroad. The Crown Prosecution Service said it was the first time it had brought charges of murder as crimes against humanity.
In 2005, Afghan warlord Faryadi Zardad was convicted by a British court of torture that had taken place in Afghanistan.
Al-Salem, who has sought indefinite leave to remain in Britain, was a colonel in the Syrian Air Force Intelligence department with oversight of the Information Branch in the district of Jobar, to the east of central Damascus, British prosecutors say.
He is accused of leading a group tasked with quelling the demonstrations, which mostly occurred during Friday afternoon prayers. Prosecutors say he gave his men orders to open fire on protesters, which led to the deaths of some individuals.
Prosecutors say he was also present at, or took part in, the torture of men at the Information Branch building.
Al-Salem was first arrested in central England in December 2021. His lawyer had sought an order to withhold his name, arguing it could pose a risk to his safety. England's Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring rejected the application but ordered that his address not be made public.
He will next appear on Friday at London's Old Bailey court.
