The uncle of Syrian President B. al-Assad will be tried in Switzerland for war crimes

He is “accused of ordering murders, torture, ill-treatment and illegal detentions in Syria in February 1982” during the conflict between the Syrian armed forces and the Islamist opposition, the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.

R. al-Assad’s alleged crimes were committed “while acting as the commander of the defense brigades […] and operations commander in Chama,” the statement said.

It said the crimes he was accused of were committed “during an armed conflict and a large-scale and systematic attack against the residents of the city of Hama” in central Syria.

In early February 1982, Syrian security forces were sent into Hama to quell an uprising by Islamist opposition, and the operation is believed to have ended by the end of the same month.

The OAG emphasized that the Defense Brigades, led by Mr. al-Assad, “were allegedly the main forces responsible for the suppression.”

“In this context, several thousand civilians are alleged to have been victims of various abuses, ranging from direct execution to imprisonment and torture in specially created centers, according to several testimonies,” the report said.

The indictment says that more than 3,000 people died in Chama during this armed conflict. up to 60 thousand people, mostly civilians.

The complaint against him was first filed in 2013 by TRIAL International, an advocacy group that works with victims and encourages Switzerland to prosecute suspected international criminals.

The criminal trial in Switzerland was eventually launched under so-called international jurisdiction, which allows countries to prosecute alleged crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.

Under Switzerland’s former military penal code, since 1968, war crimes have been considered criminal offenses in the country, regardless of where they were committed and the nationality of the perpetrators or victims.

Mr. al-Assad was forced to go abroad in 1984 after a failed attempt to overthrow his brother, but returned to his country in 2021.

The start date of his trial in Switzerland has not yet been announced.