The trial of a 47-year-old Syrian man in connection with potential war crimes began in Hamburg today , carried out by Syrian government militia in the period 2012-2015, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
The accused is a 47-year-old Syrian man who entered Germany in February 2016 and was detained in the northwestern city of Bremen in August last year, a spokesman for the authorities said.
It is claimed that as one of the leaders of the militia "Shabiha" the accused participated in the abuse and enslavement of civilians, as well as in robberies.
Militia have arbitrarily detained people at checkpoints in Damascus in order to extort ransom, force them to do forced labor or torture them.
The militia, in cooperation with a unit of the military secret service, is believed to have used violence to suppress opposition efforts.
German federal prosecutors charge the man with 21 crimes against humanity and war crimes.