A trial has begun at the Berlin Court of Appeal against a man who is said to have intentionally fired a grenade into a crowd in the Syrian capital Damascus in 2014 and killed civilians. The federal prosecutor accuses the 55-year-old of war crimes and murder in seven cases, among other things. According to the indictment, he acted out of revenge.
At the beginning of the trial on Thursday, the accused refugee remained silent about the allegations. However, he will comment on his CV, announced one of the defense attorneys.
Two men who were seriously injured at the time are now joint plaintiffs. The crime is said to have been triggered by the killing of a nephew of the accused in a shootout with fighters from the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) in the turmoil of the Syrian civil war.
The man wanted to take revenge on the civilian population of Al Yarmouk, a district of Damascus. According to the indictment, the then militia officer fired at least once into the crowd without warning.
At least seven civilians were killed in the attack in the district that emerged from a Palestinian refugee camp. Three victims were injured, some seriously, including a six-year-old child, according to the indictment. The victims were civilians waiting for food to be distributed by a United Nations agency.
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The stateless man – according to him a Syrian Palestinian – came to Germany in 2018. In August 2021 he was arrested in Berlin.
