Facts
Ahmed Hamdane Mahmoud Ayach El Aswadi was born on 15 April 1984 in Samarra, Iraq.
El Aswadi is suspected of having participated in the massacre at Camp Speicher, a military base near Tikrit, Iraq. In June 2014, armed men abducted and executed hundreds of young army recruits, mainly Shiites, killing up to 1’700 people. Based on the testimony of other suspects, the Iraqi authorities claim that El Aswadi personally executed 103 soldiers.
The accused denies all involvement in the alleged crimes. The accused arrived in France in the summer of 2016. He was granted refugee status in June 2017. This protection was removed after his arrest.
Procedure
In the summer of 2017, the French intelligence services identified El Aswadi as an alleged ISIS member and reported his presence to the judicial authorities.
In November 2017, the Office of the Prosecutor of the French Specialized Unit for the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture within the Paris Tribunal (integrated in 2019 within the newly created French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecution Office) requested the opening of an investigation against El Aswadi. This is the first case to be investigated jointly by the anti-terrorism and the specialized units.
On 6 March 2018, El Aswadi was arrested in Lisieux (Normandy). After two days in police custody, he was indicted for criminal conspiracy, murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and war crimes of inhumane and degrading treatment and of using prohibited means and methods of warfare. He was subsequently placed in pre-trial detention.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ahmed Hamdane El Aswadi was freed from detention and placed under judicial surveillance in May 2020. He fled to Germany, where he reported to a police station and was placed under extradition proceeding.