Syrian doctor on trial in Germany for torture
After a landmark German court ruling last week sentencing a Syrian former intelligence officer to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity, the trial of the 36-year-old doctor started at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main.
The defendant, identified as Alaa M. under German privacy laws, is accused of torturing opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while working as a doctor at a military prison and hospitals in Homs and Damascus in 2011 and 2012.
Public Prosector Anna Zabeck said on Wednesday (January 19) the man was accused of "setting fire to the genitals of detainees, performing surgery without the necessary anaesthesia and massive beatings with various instruments."
The Assad government denies accusations of having tortured prisoners.
