BERLIN: A German court on Tuesday sentenced three Syrian men to prison for involvement in a foreign terrorist group during the civil war after a trial that lasted more than a year.
The three defendants, identified only partially as Amer Tarak A., Sohail A. and Basel O., received sentences ranging from four and a half to nearly 10 years from the Munich court.
All three belonged to an armed rebel group called Liwa Jund Al-Rahman, which Amer Tarak A. allegedly founded, and two were also found guilty of war crimes.
The group fought against Syrian ruler Bashar Assad and later merged with the jihadist Daesh group.
Amer Tarak A. allegedly seized control of an oil field in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, using the profits to fund his armed group and enrich his family.
He also ordered a massacre of Shiite Muslims in the village of Hatla, which was filmed by co-defendant Sohail A.
The presiding judge in the case sought expert testimony to place the crimes in the context of the long Syrian civil war.
The armed rebel group reportedly started as a secular force aimed at fighting the regular Syrian army — but took on Islamist traits before joining the IS group in 2013.
The defendants tried to argue that they were engaged in a legitimate armed struggle for freedom against the Assad regime.
But that defense was rejected by the Munich court.
All three men fled Syria for Germany after the defeat of the IS group.
The men could still appeal against the verdict, reached after more than 14 months of proceedings.
Germany jails three Syrians who fought for ‘terror group’
https://arab.news/nzz8t
Germany jails three Syrians who fought for ‘terror group’
- They received sentences ranging from four and a half to nearly 10 years
- All three belonged to an armed rebel group called Liwa Jund Al-Rahman
North Korea and China to resume passenger train service after six-year gap
- China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week
- The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation”
SEOUL/BEIJING: Tickets for the first passenger train in six years from Beijing to North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, were sold out ahead of its March 12 departure, an official ticketing office in Beijing said on Tuesday.
The resumption of the rail service, suspended since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, revives a critical transport link between the largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally.
Tickets for the journey — restricted to travelers holding business visas — were purchased by entrepreneurs, government officials and reporters, according to the Beijing ticketing office. Tickets were still available for the next service, scheduled for March 18.
NORTH KOREA STILL LARGELY CLOSED TO TOURISTS
China’s railway authority said in a notice that Beijing-Pyongyang trains will operate four times a week in both directions on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday while Dandong-Pyongyang trains will run daily.
The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual well-being and friendship,” the notice said.
North Korea remains closed to most foreign tourism, with limited exceptions largely for Russian tour groups under restricted arrangements, according to travel agencies organizing trips to the country.
Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors made up the largest share of foreign tourists to North Korea, the agencies said. Tour organizers said on Monday that North Korea had canceled next month’s Pyongyang Marathon for unspecified reasons. The race is one of the few events that has been open to international participants in the isolated state.
