Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 30, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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German police arrested Syrian militia leader Anwar S. for crimes against humanity in Aleppo, highlighting Germany's use of universal jurisdiction laws.
BERLIN (Reuters) -German police arrested on Tuesday a Syrian man suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including killing and torturing, as a militia leader in 2011 in Aleppo, prosecutors said.
The Syrian national, identified only as Anwar S. in line with German privacy laws, is suspected of being head of the "shabiha militia" deployed in Aleppo on behalf of the former Syrian leadership under then-President Bashar al-Assad.
Prosecutors said that on eight occasions between April and November 2011 after Friday prayers, the suspect and his militia hit civilians with batons, metal pipes and other tools to disperse protests. Electric shocks were also believed to have been used, they added in a statement.
Some protesters were handed over to police and intelligence authorities and, while detained, subjected to severe abuse, said the prosecutors, adding in once case, a protester died.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact Anwar S.'s lawyer for comment.
Germany has targeted several former Syrian officials in the last few years under universal jurisdiction laws that allow prosecutors to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.
(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Miranda Murray)
A Syrian man identified only as Anwar S. was arrested by German police.
He is suspected of committing crimes against humanity, including killing and torturing civilians.
He was the head of the 'shabiha militia' in Aleppo, which was deployed on behalf of the former Syrian leadership.
The militia hit civilians with batons and metal pipes to disperse protests and handed some over to police for severe abuse.
Germany has targeted former Syrian officials under universal jurisdiction laws, allowing trials for crimes against humanity committed abroad.
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