Syrian officer’s war crimes trial begins in Swedish court

Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo who lives in Sweden, is accused of “aiding and abetting” war crimes and could get a life jail sentence

The Stockholm District Court is pictured on April 15, 2024, as the main hearing against the former Syrian brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, who stands accused of aiding and abetting war crimes in Syria in 2012, starts here. | Photo Credit: AFP

The highest-ranking Syrian military official to be tried in Europe on April 15 appeared before a Stockholm court accused of war crimes during Syria’s civil war.

Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, 65 who lives in Sweden, is accused of “aiding and abetting” war crimes and could get a life jail sentence.

The war between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and armed opposition groups, including the Islamic State, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

It has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and ravaged Syria’s economy and infrastructure.

Prosecutor Karolina Wieslander said Mr. Hamo had contributed — through “advice and action” — to the Syrian Army’s warfare, which “systematically included attacks carried out in violation of the principles of distinction, caution and proportionality.”

‘Disproportionate scale’

The charges concern the period of January 1 to July 20, 2012. The trial is expected to last until late May. The prosecutor said that the Syrian Army’s “widespread air and ground attacks” 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.” In his role as brigadier general and head of an armament division, Mr. Hamo allegedly helped coordinate and supply of arms to units.

Mr. Hamo’s lawyer, Mari Kilman, told the court that her client 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,” the lawyer said.

She said that the officer could not be held liable for the actions “as he had acted in a military context and had to follow orders.”

Mr. Hamo also denied all individual charges and argued that Syrian law should be applied.

Several plaintiffs are to testify at the trial, including Syrians from cities that were attacked and a British photographer who was injured during one strike.

This trial will be the first in Europe “to address these types of indiscriminate attacks by the Syrian Army”, according to Aida Samani, a legal advisor at Civil Rights Defenders.