Stockholm: A Stockholm court on Thursday acquitted one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officials to be tried in Europe on war crimes charges, saying in a statement the prosecution did not prove his alleged involvement.
Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, 65, was declared innocent of the charges of “aiding and abetting” war crimes in 2012, the court said. While the Syrian military had used “indiscriminate attacks” at that time, the prosecution did not prove that Hamo’s division was involved in those attacks, nor that he had a role in providing arms for the attacks, the statement said.
The war between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and armed opposition groups, including Islamic State, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.
It has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and ravaged Syria's economy and infrastructure.
According to the charges, Hamo contributed -- through "advice and action" -- to the Syrian army's warfare, which "systematically included attacks carried out in violation of the principles of distinction, caution and proportionality".
"The warfare was thus indiscriminate," prosecutor Karolina Wieslander told the court when the trial opened in April.
Wieslander said the Syrian army's "widespread air and ground attacks" caused damage "at a scale that was disproportionate in view of the concrete and immediate general military advantages that could be expected to be achieved".
In his role as brigadier general and head of an armament division, Hamo allegedly helped coordinate the supply of arms and ammunition to units.
Hamo's lawyer, Mari Kilman, told the court her client denied criminal responsibility and had not shown "intent" to contribute to "indiscriminate warfare" by others.
Kilman said the officer could not be held liable for the actions "as he had acted in a military context and had to follow orders."
Aida Samani, senior legal advisor at rights group Civil Rights Defenders -- which has been monitoring the trial -- told AFP that "strong evidence" had been presented at the trial.
"We will now see what the court makes of that information and evidence," Samani said.
"What is noteworthy about this case is that this is the first trial concerning the Syrian military's warfare. That is, how the warfare was carried out," she said.
No European court has previously dealt with this issue and the impact on civilian lives and infrastructure, she added.
Hamo is the highest-ranking military official to go on trial in Europe in person, though other countries have tried to bring charges against more senior members.
In March, Swiss prosecutors charged Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of President Bashar al-Assad, with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, it remains unlikely Rifaat al-Assad -- who recently returned to Syria after 37 years in exile -- will show up for the trial, for which a date has yet to be set.
Swiss law allows for trials in absentia under certain conditions.
In November, France issued an international arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad, accusing him of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes over chemical attacks in 2013.
Three other international warrants were also issued for the arrests of Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, the de-facto chief of the army's elite Fourth Division, and two generals.
In May, a Paris court also ordered life prison sentences for three top Syrian security officials for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The accused -- Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Bureau; Jamil Hassan, former director of the Air Force intelligence service; and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, former head of investigations -- were all absent, but there are international warrants for their arrest.
In January 2022, a German court sentenced former colonel Anwar Raslan to life in jail for crimes against humanity. That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria and was hailed by victims as a victory for justice.
Swedish court acquits former Syrian general of war crimes charges: statement
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Swedish court acquits former Syrian general of war crimes charges: statement
- The trial is against one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officials to be tried in Europe,
Hungary’s Orban moves to form new EU parliament group
- New alliance will need support from parties from four other countries to be recognized as a group in the EU parliament
“We take on the responsibility to launch this new platform and new faction. I want to make it clear that this is our goal,” Orban told reporters at a joint press conference with Austria’s Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl and Babis, calling for other parties’ support.
The new alliance will need support from parties from four other countries to be recognized as a group in the EU parliament.
Eleven dead in Indian capital after heavy rain, flight operations stutter
- New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28
- Nearly 60 flights were canceled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to flight tracking platform Flightaware
NEW DELHI: The death toll from this week’s sudden heavy rain has climbed to 11 in New Delhi, including four citizens who drowned in submerged underpasses, the Times of India reported, while flight operations stuttered in the Indian capital.
New Delhi, which endured one of its worst heatwaves in history earlier this month, faced the biggest downpour in decades on June 28, with rainfall in a single day surpassing the city’s average for the entire month.
The torrential rain caused a fatal roof collapse at one of the three terminals of Delhi’s main airport, disrupted flights, flooded underpasses, and led to massive traffic jams, power and water outages in parts of the city.
Nearly 60 flights were canceled from New Delhi’s main airport in the last 24 hours, according to data from flight tracking platform Flightaware.
Operations were largely normal on Sunday, with most flights from the affected terminal diverted to the other two, an airport official said but did not rule out possible flight cancelations in the course of the day.
The Delhi airport is one of the country’s biggest and busiest.
Terminal 1, the now-closed terminal, is mostly used by low-cost carriers IndiGo, operated by Interglobe Aviation, and SpiceJet, and currently has a capacity to handle 40 million passengers annually.
An Indigo spokesperson did not comment on the flight cancelations and a SpiceJet spokesperson did not immediately respond to a phone call.
Myanmar central bank denies UN report on weapons transactions
Myanmar’s central bank denied a UN report that the country’s military government can still access money and weapons for its war against anti-coup forces, saying financial institutions under the bank’s supervision followed prescribed procedures.
The Central Bank of Myanmar “expressed our strong objection to the UN Special Rapporteur’s report,” it said in a statement published in a junta newspaper on Saturday. “The UN report severely harms the interests of Myanmar civilians and the relationship between Myanmar and other countries.”
The rapporteur on Myanmar’s human rights, Tom Andrews, reported on Wednesday that while international efforts to isolate the junta appear to have dented its ability to buy military equipment, it still imported $253 million worth of weapons, dual-use technologies, manufacturing equipment and other materials in the 12 months to March.
The report said Myanmar had the help of international banks, including those from Southeast Asian neighbor Thailand, for its purchases.
Facing its biggest challenge since its 2021 coup against Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, Myanmar’s military is caught up in multiple, low-intensity conflicts and grappling to stabilize a crumbling economy.
Western countries have imposed multiple financial sanctions on Myanmar’s military, banks and associated businesses.
The central bank said local and international banks engaged in transactions with Myanmar have undergone comprehensive due diligence measures for all business relationships and transactions.
“The financial transactions are only for the importation of essential goods and basic necessities for Myanmar civilians, such as medicines and medical supplies, agricultural and livestock supplies, fertilizers, edible oil and fuels,” it said.
The UN report said exports from Singapore had plunged to just over $10 million from over $110 million in 2022 but that Thai companies in Thailand partially filled the gap, transferring $120 million worth of weapons and materials in 2023, double from the previous year.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that the country’s banking and financial institutions follow protocols like other major financial hubs, adding the government will look into the UN rapporteur’s report.
Greek firefighters tame wildfire on island of Serifos
- Dozens of firefighters with 15 fire engines battled to contain the fire, backed up by a water-carrying helicopter
- The wildfire, which at one point had raged across 15 kilometers, damaged holiday homes and storehouses
ATHENS: Greek firefighters managed to contain on Sunday a wildfire that had raged uncontrolled overnight on the Aegean island of Serifos, damaging houses and prompting the evacuation of several hamlets.
Dozens of firefighters with 15 fire engines battled to contain the fire, backed up by a water-carrying helicopter. It had broken out amid low vegetation on Saturday and spread quickly, fanned by strong winds, the fire brigade said.
The wildfire, which at one point had raged across 15 kilometers, damaged holiday homes and storehouses, the island’s mayor, Kostas Revinthis, told Greek television.
With hot, windy conditions across much of the country, dozens of wildfires broke out on Saturday and authorities advised people to stay away from forested areas.
A wildfire in a mountainous forest area just outside Athens had eased by Sunday morning but some 160 firefighters were still engaged in extinguishing it, officials said.
The strong winds are not expected to abate until later on Sunday, meteorologists said.
Wildfires are common in the Mediterranean country but have become more devastating in recent years as summers have become hotter, drier and windier, which scientists link to the effects of climate change.
After last summer’s deadly forest fires and following its warmest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire engine to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.
Colombia rebel group agrees to ‘unilateral ceasefire’
- Latest attempt by Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro to end six decades of conflict between the government and rebel groups
CARACAS: A Colombian splinter group of former FARC guerrillas known as Segunda Marquetalia has agreed to a “unilateral ceasefire” and the release of captives following negotiations with the government, according to a joint statement Saturday.
The talks, held this week in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, are the latest attempt by Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro to end six decades of conflict between the government and rebel groups.
As part of the ceasefire deal, Segunda Marquetalia committed to the “delivery of the people they are holding,” according to a document signed by chief government negotiator Armando Novoa and rebel representative Walter Mendoza.
“The full implementation of de-escalation will begin as soon as the presidential decree on offensive military operations comes into force,” said the text seen by AFP, without specifying a date.
A meeting in Tumaco, in western Colombia, will be held between the two parties “no later than July 20” to present the “de-escalation” agreement and to define a timetable for identifying social and economic projects.
The accord follows days of negotiations in Caracas, where seven delegates from each side began talks Monday.
Segunda Marquetalia is a rebel group that broke away from a historic 2016 ceasefire deal with FARC guerillas.
Those present at the Caracas talks include the rebels’ leader known under the alias Ivan Marquez, who was thought to be dead until he reappeared in a video in May.
Marquez — whose real name is Luciano Marin — was the chief FARC negotiator for the 2016 deal, returned to civilian life and was elected a senator, before launching a new rebellion in 2019.
But at the opening of the Caracas talks, he said that he was “fully willing to contribute to the common achievement of peace for Colombia.”
Saturday’s agreement stipulates that the rebel group agreed “not to remain armed or in uniform” in urban centers or “land and river routes.”
It also asserts that the ceasefire does not restrict the national security forces’ “constitutional and legal powers.”
Colombia’s leadership has faced multiple obstacles in their efforts to end the conflict between the country’s security forces, guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.
The government and Segunda Marquetalia announced in February plans to hold peace talks.
The rebel group is considered second in importance only to the main FARC dissident group, the EMC, with Segunda Marquetalia having around 1,600 members according to military intelligence.
Talks between the government and the EMC began in October 2023 but they have been plagued by ceasefire violations and a major split in the group in April, which saw half of its fighters abandon peace negotiations.
The Colombian government has been involved since 2022 in stop-start talks with the Marxist National Liberation Army (ELN) — responsible for the kidnapping last October of the father of a Liverpool footballer, Luis Diaz.
