Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleA Syrian doctor was sentenced to life in Germany for torturing Assad critics, marking a significant use of universal jurisdiction laws.
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -A Syrian doctor who had practised in Germany was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Monday for crimes against humanity and war crimes after he was found guilty of torturing dissidents in Syria.
The 40-year-old, identified only as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was found guilty of killing two people and torturing another eight during his time working in Syria as a doctor at a military hospital and detention centre in Homs in 2011 and 2012.
The court said his crimes were part of a systematic attack against people protesting against then-President Bashar al-Assad during the Arab Spring, which precipitated the country's civil war.
Assad was toppled in December. His government denied it tortured prisoners.
Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015, after fleeing to Germany among a large influx of Syrian refugees, and became one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system.
He was arrested in June 2020, and was handed a life sentence without parole, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt said in a statement.
The defendant had pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy.
German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.
They have targeted several former Syrian officials in similar cases in recent years.
The plaintiffs were supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
ECCHR lawyer Patrick Kroker called Monday's ruling "a further step towards a comprehensive reckoning with Assad's crimes".
Judges found that the doctor caused "considerable physical suffering" as a result of the torture inflicted on his victims, which included serious beatings, mistreating wounds and inflicting serious injury to the genitals of two prisoners, one of whom was a teenage boy.
Two patients died after he gave them lethal medication, the court statement said.
Monday's ruling can be appealed.
(Additional reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Writing by Rachel More, Editing by William Maclean, Aidan Lewis and Alison Williams)
The Syrian doctor, identified as Alaa M., was sentenced to life in prison by a German court for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Alaa M. was found guilty of killing two people and torturing eight others during his time working in Syria, as part of a systematic attack against protesters.
German prosecutors utilized universal jurisdiction laws, which allow them to pursue trials for suspects involved in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.
The plaintiffs were supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, which emphasized the importance of holding perpetrators accountable.
Yes, the ruling can be appealed, as stated by the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt.
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