Germany Arrests Individuals Allegedly Committing War Crimes in Syria

Prosecutors announced that "German police have arrested a Syrian and four individuals of Syrian-Palestinian origin without citizenship on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Syria nearly 10 years ago." The prosecution stated in a statement that it is suspected that four of the detainees belonged to an armed group called "Free Palestine Movement" in Syria. It was clarified that "there is strong suspicion that they were involved in the killing and attempted killing of civilians, which is classified as crimes against humanity and war crimes." The prosecution claimed that they participated in a crackdown in Yarmouk camp in July 2012, where civilian protesters were targeted and shot at. Additionally, the four face charges of "punching and kicking civilians between 2012 and 2014 at checkpoints, as well as hitting citizens with rifle butts." In accordance with German privacy laws, they were only referred to by the names "Jihad A.", "Mahmoud A.", "Samir S.", "Wael S.", and "Muzhir J.".