Germany Hears Defendants in the Case of the Siege of Syria’s Yarmouk Camp

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, will begin a trial related to crimes committed during the era of the former Syrian regime, with a focus on the case of the siege and starvation of the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus.

The German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges, under the principle of universal jurisdiction, against five individuals suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes. Four of them—believed to be members of the Palestine Liberation Brigade militia—are currently on trial, in addition to one person accused of being an agent of Syrian intelligence. The charges against them include intentional killing, torture, deprivation of liberty, and the use of prohibited methods of warfare.

The accusations are linked to their alleged participation in suppressing a peaceful demonstration against the former Syrian regime on July 13, 2012.

Riham Hawash, Regional Director of the Yarmouk and Syria Program at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, said: “The history of Yarmouk has not been written because those who could tell it were tortured, starved, killed, or forced to flee. This trial is an attempt to fill this gap and affirm that Yarmouk was not collateral damage, but a project of destruction.”

Andreas Schüller, Co-Director of the International Crimes and Accountability Program at the Center, added: “This case is a fundamental step toward addressing the war that was waged on entire areas, and it represents an important part of the transition toward a new Syria through confronting the crimes of the past.”