Germany: Syrian man who posed with severed head charged with war crimes

A 33-year-old Syrian man was charged in the western Germany city of Koblenz on Friday with committing war crimes.

Authorities say they they have concrete evidence that the man fought with the “Islamic State” (IS) terror group for two years, according to a press release put out by prosecutors,

“The accused is suspected of joining armed resistance against the Syrian government in 2012 in the southern city of Dara’a. There is significant suspicion that the accused, at some point between 2012 and September 2014, posed for a picture with the severed head of what is presumably an opposing fighter, mocking the victim even after death and degrading his remains,” the prosecutors wrote.

Syrian refugees who knew the man reported his alleged actions to authorities in Koblenz, according to the statement.

After receiving a warrant to search his electronic devices, police found the image on the suspect’s mobile phone. The man admitted that he was in the picture, but has argued that he did not kill the victim, but simply found his remains under some rubble.

If convicted, the suspect, who is already in prison for other lesser offenses, faces between one and ten years in prison.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-syrian-man-who-posed-with-severed-head-charged-with-war-crimes/a-50145173?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-xml-atom