Syrian army general goes on trial in Sweden for war crimes

The trial of a former high-ranking Syrian military officer on charges linked to the country’s civil war has begun in Sweden.

Former Brig Gen Mohammed Hamo is accused of “aiding and abetting” war crimes, including “indiscriminate attacks” on the towns of Hama and Homs in 2012.

Mr Hamo faces a life sentence if convicted. His trial is expected to last until the end of next month.

Aida Samani, senior legal adviser at the Civil Rights Defenders group, which has been gathering evidence relating to the Syrian civil war, said the attacks on the towns resulted in “widespread civilian harm and an immense destruction of civilian properties”.

“This trial is important because it’s the first time that anyone from the Syrian government or the Syrian army is actually put on trial for the attacks that took place,” said Ms Samani.

According to the charge sheet, Mr Hamo contributed through “advice and action” to the Syrian army’s tactics, “which systematically involved indiscriminate attacks on several towns or places in the area in and around the towns of Hama and Homs”.

Mr Hamo allegedly helped to co-ordinate and supply arms to units, enabling orders to be carried out at an “operational level”.

Prosecutors say the Syrian army’s “warfare has included widespread air and ground attacks by unknown perpetrators within the Syrian army” and argue strikes were carried out without distinction between civilian and military targets.

This trial will be the first in Europe “to address these types of indiscriminate attacks by the Syrian army”, Ms Samani said, and “will be the first opportunity for victims of the attacks to have their voices heard in an independent court”.

Eight plaintiffs filed the case against Mr Hamo, including a man whose brother was killed in the attacks on Homs, as well as a British photographer and a French journalist who were injured in an attack on the city’s media centre.

Mr Hamo defected from the Syrian army in July 2012 and joined those fighting to remove President Bashar Al Assad from power.

He lived in central Sweden until he was arrested on December 7, 2021.

A court released him two days later, saying there was not enough evidence to keep him in custody. His lawyer, Mari Kilman, said her client maintained his innocence.

Mr Hamo’s trial follows the conviction of former intelligence officer Anwar Raslan.

Raslan was jailed for life in Germany for crimes against humanity in the first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria.