Germany Begins Trial Of Syrian Doctor Charged For Crimes Against Humanity

German prosecutors has accused a Syrian doctor on Wednesday, of crimes against humanity, which included torturing detainees and killing one of them while working in military hospitals in his country.

The accused doctor identified as Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015 where he continued to practise medicine until his arrest.

The trial happened at Frankfurt’s higher regional court and is the second of its kind in Germany. Aljazeera reports that Alaa M. faces 18 counts of torturing detainees at military hospitals in Homs and Damascus between 2011-12, including setting fire to a teenage boy’s genitals.

He also faces one count of murder, for having allegedly administered a lethal injection to a prisoner who resisted being beaten. He also helped to perpetuate a systematic attack on the civilian population.

The federal prosecutor, Anna Zabeck also said that he “tortured detainees by inflicting substantial bodily harm on them. The doctor has denied the allegations.

Alaa M. became one of the 5,000 Syrian doctors in Germany who have helped ease acute staff shortages in the health sector. He has worked in several German hospitals.

Last week, a German court sentenced a former Syrian colonel to life imprisonment for overseeing the murder of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at a Damascus detention centre.