Facts
In May 2014, ISIS took control of the area of al-Sawana in Syria. Following the capture of the area, it imposed a brutal regime on the local population, inflicting harsh punishments such as floggings for minor offenses and installing a large screen to broadcast videos of executions.
The prosecution alleged that, at some point during the period 9 May 2015 to 30 June 2015, Walid Al Zaytun joined or acted for ISIS in al-Sawana. During this period, the prosecution alleged that he was involved in the public execution of two individuals, reportedly members of the rival anti-Assad armed group, Jaysh al-Islam. Walid Al Zaytun was alleged to have been involved in bringing the men unarmed, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs, to Suweis Square in al-Sawana, where they were executed by other members of the group. He was also alleged to have been involved in dragging a deceased body behind a car, tying it to a pole, desecrating it and leaving it for public view.
Procedure
On 21 March 2023, Walid Al Zaytun was arrested in Ronneby, Sweden and charged with the war crimes of killing protected persons, humiliating or degrading treatment and torture or other inhuman treatment.
The trial took place in April 2024. On 2 May 2024, the Blekinge District Court acquitted Walid Al Zaytun of all charges on the basis of insufficient evidence.
The court noted that the prosecution’s extensive use of written witness statements from foreign interrogations and interviews, conducted by the authorities in Turkey and Germany and by the NGO Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), could only be given very limited probative value. It stressed in particular that, as an NGO, CIJA is not subject to the same regulatory framework and procedural safeguards as European police authorities, making interviews conducted by CIJA of limited probative value. The judgment is final.