Sweden court acquits former Syrian general of alleged war crimes
Al Jazeera
Verdict says prosecution failed to prove that Mohammed Hamo’s division was involved in the cited ‘indiscriminate’ attacks.
A court in Sweden has acquitted a former Syrian general of playing a role in alleged war crimes committed more than 10 years ago in his home country.
In a statement announcing its verdict on Thursday, the Stockholm District Court said that while the Syrian military had used “indiscriminate attacks” at that time, the prosecution had not proved that former Brigadier General Mohammed Hamo’s division was involved in those attacks, or that he had a role in providing arms for the assaults.
The 65-year-old, who lives in Sweden and was one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officials to have been tried in Europe, stood accused of “aiding and abetting” war crimes in the first half of 2012.
In June 2012, he was transferred to northern Syria, and the following month he decided to leave the army and fled to Turkey. There, he joined a group that was fighting against the Syrian regime.
He travelled to Sweden in 2015, where he sought asylum, which was granted. But the Swedish Migration Agency informed the government that Hamo was previously “a senior officer within the framework of an army that was systematically considered to have committed violations of human rights”.
