Syrian ex-general faces Swedish court over war crime charges

A Stockholm court on Monday began the trial of 65-year-old Mohammed Hamo, accused of supporting disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks.

Hamo had the highest rank of any Syrian military official to go on trial in Europe, although other countries have sought to press charges against more senior soldiers and officials.

What are the accusations?

Prosecutor Karolina Wieslander read the charges against Hamo, who listened carefully and wrote notes during the indictment.

Wieslander told the court that Hamo had contributed — through "advice and action" — to the warfare conducted by the Syrian army, which "systematically included attacks carried out in violation of the principles of distinction, caution and proportionality."

"The warfare was thus indiscriminate," Wieslander said.

The prosecutor said Hamo was vital in making "strategic decisions and [implementing] military operations" in the Syrian army's 11th division.

Hamo allegedly helped coordinate and supply weaponry to units in his role as brigadier general and head of an armament detachment.

The Syrian military had carried out "widespread air and ground attacks," the prosecutor said.

The charges relate to attacks "on several towns or places in the area in and around the towns of Hama and Homs" in a period from January 1 to July 20, 2012.

These had caused damage "at a scale that was disproportionate in view of the concrete and immediate general military advantages that could be expected to be achieved."

Eight plaintiffs filed the case, including a man whose brother was killed in the attacks, as well as a British photographer and a French journalist who were both injured. 

What does the defense say?

Defense lawyer, Mari Kilman, told the court that her client — who has argued that Syrian law should be applied — denied criminal responsibility.

"In any case, he has not had the intent towards the main charge, that indiscriminate warfare would be carried out by others," Kilman said.

Kilman said it was also wrong to hold the officer liable for the actions "as he had acted in a military context and had to follow orders."

Hamo defected from the Syrian army in July 2012 to join forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.

Why is the trial an important one?

The former general risks up to 18 years in jail and possibly even life imprisonment, with a life sentence in Sweden generally ranging between 20 to 25 years in prison.

Aida Samani, a senior legal advisor at rights group Civil Rights Defenders, told the AFP news agency that the trial was the first in Europe "to address these types of indiscriminate attacks by the Syrian army."

He added that it was "the first opportunity for victims of the attacks to have their voices heard in an independent court."

Army attacks in and around Homs and Hama in 2012 caused widespread civilian harm and immense destruction of civilian properties.

"The same conduct has been repeated systematically by the Syrian army in other cities across Syria with complete impunity," said Samani.

Who else do prosecutors have in their sights?

While Hamo is  the highest ranking officer to go on trial, prosecutors in Switzerland in March charged Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Syria's president, with "ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatments and illegal detentions."

It remains unlikely Assad, whose alleged crimes date back to a previous conflict in 1982, will show up for any trial. The 86-year-old, known as "the Butcher of Hama," recently returned to Syria after 37 years in exile.

In November, France issued an international arrest warrant for President Assad himself. The Syrian president is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes over chemical attacks in 2013.

Three other international warrants were also issued for the arrests of the president's brother Maher, the de-facto head of an elite military unit of the Syrian army, and two generals.

A German court in 2022 sentenced former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan to life in jail for crimes against humanity. It was the first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria.

rc/rm (AFP, AP)