BERLIN: A German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life imprisonment for torture and war crimes in his Syrian homeland on Monday for killing two people and torturing nine in Syria between 2011 and 2012.
The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court also established the particular gravity of the guilt, which in practice virtually rules out early release after 15 years — as is often the case in Germany when people are sentenced to life imprisonment. The 40-year-old Syrian, who was identified as Alaa M. in line with German privacy rules, was placed in preventive detention, German news agency dpa reported.
In his verdict, presiding judge Christoph Koller described the actions of the accused in the military hospital in the Syrian city of Homs in the early stages of the civil war that began in 2011. He said the doctor had sadistic tendencies and acted them out during the torture.
“Above all, the accused enjoyed harming people that seemed inferior and low-value to him,” Koller said, according to dpa.
During the trial, which lasted almost three and a half years, victims had described the most severe abuse, including beatings, kicks and the setting of wounds and body parts on fire, dpa reported.
Koller emphasized that without the willingness and courage of witnesses to share the details of their suffering the facts of the case could not have been clarified.
M. had lived in Germany for ten years and had worked as an orthopedic surgeon in several clinics, most recently in Bad Wildungen in northern Hesse. In summer 2020, he was arrested after some of his victims had recognized him from a TV documentary about Homs, dpa reported.
The doctor supposedly tortured prisoners who were considered part of the opposition to former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. The trial against him began in January 2022.
Alaa M. described himself as not guilty during the trial, alleging that he was the victim of a conspiracy, dpa wrote. The verdict is not yet final.
![]()
German court sentences Syrian doctor to life in prison for torture and war crimes in his homeland
Short Url
https://arab.news/9nwep
German court sentences Syrian doctor to life in prison for torture and war crimes in his homeland
- German news agency dpa reported that the 40-year-old Syrian, who was identified as Alaa M. in line with German privacy rules, was placed in preventive detention
More than 200 political prisoners in Venezuela launch hunger strike
GUATIRE: More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners were on hunger strike Sunday to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.