The Supreme Court in Sweden is set to start the trial today, Monday, April 15, of the highest-ranking former officer of the Syrian regime’s forces in Stockholm, Sweden.
Former Syrian Army Brigadier General, Mohammed Hamou, 65, who resides in Sweden, will stand trial for aiding and inciting the commitment of war crimes during the Syrian revolution, with a potential life sentence.
The indictment alleges that Hamou contributed through advice and action in the war waged by the Syrian army, which systematically included indiscriminate attacks on towns and places within and around the cities of Hama and Homs.
The accusations relate to the period between January 1 and July 20, 2012, and the trial is expected to continue until the end of May.
Prosecutors say that the Syrian army war included widespread aerial and ground attacks staged by unidentified individuals in the army, and strikes were executed indiscriminately, without distinction between civilian and military targets.
Hamou’s lawyer, Marie Klemens, told AFP that her client denies committing any crime and declined to provide further comments before the trial.
The trial will feature testimony from several plaintiffs, including Syrians from the affected cities and a British photographer who was injured during one of the raids.
Legal Advisor at the Civil Rights Defenders organization, Aida al-Sammani, told AFP that the attacks on Homs and Hama and their surroundings in 2012 resulted in widespread damage to civilians and massive destruction of civilian property.
She added that the same behavior was systematically repeated by the Syrian army in other cities across Syria, with complete impunity, and this will be the first opportunity for victims of the attacks to make their voices heard in an independent court.
The trial, which begins today, Monday, will last for five weeks, with two to four sessions per week.
The trial will begin with the prosecution statement today and tomorrow, followed by the opening statements of the prosecution and defense lawyers on April 22.
The first hearing of the plaintiffs is scheduled for April 22, followed by other sessions on the 23rd and 24th of the same month, and a hearing for the accused on April 29.
The first witness session is on May 3, followed by other sessions on May 6, 7, 8, 13, 16, and 17, with the prosecution’s closing statements and those of the defense and prosecution lawyers on May 21, the scheduled end date of the trial, with a verdict to be issued a few weeks thereafter.
In a similar vein, the French judiciary issued international arrest warrants in November 2023 against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher, on charges of conspiring to commit crimes against humanity and war crimes related to chemical attacks in 2013.