Facts
Jihad A., Mahmoud A., Sameer S. and Wael S. are suspected of having been members of the armed militia “Free Palestine Movement” (FPM) in Syria since spring 2011. The militia exercised control over Yarmouk, Damascus, on behalf of the former Syrian regime. The district was predominantly inhabited by Palestinians.
In July 2013, the Syrian regime sealed off Yarmouk completely, resulting in a shortage of food, water, and medical supplies. FPM closely collaborated with the Syrian Military Intelligence Service, in particular with its Branches 227 and 235. The suspect Mazhar J. is alleged to have been a member of Branch 235, the so-called Palestine Branch.
All five suspects allegedly participated in the violent crackdown on a peaceful anti-government protest in Yarmouk on 13 July 2012. They and others reportedly targeted the civilian protestors and shot them. Six individuals succumbed to their wounds while other victims were seriously injured.
Mahmoud A., Mazhar J., Sameer S. and Wael S. are also suspected of having severely physically abused civilians from Yarmouk. The events occurred between mid-2012 and 2014 at checkpoints, which the FPM and other pro-regime militias had established at the district’s entrances or exits. The victims’ heads were reportedly punched and beaten with rifle butts.
In one instance, Mahmoud A. is alleged to have turned an arrested individual over to the Syrian Military Intelligence Service to be incarcerated and tortured. Moreover, he allegedly forced a woman at a checkpoint, while threatening to rape her, to pay with family jewels for the release of her minor son.
The suspect Mazhar J. allegedly ordered the arrest of a man and abused him in the prison of Branch 235.
On 16 April 2013, members of Branch 227 killed at least 41 civilians in a scheduled mass execution in Tadamon, Damascus. Three of the victims had previously been arrested at a checkpoint in Yarmouk and allegedly turned over to Branch 227 by Mahmoud A. and others.
Procedure
All five suspects were arrested in Germany on 3 July 2024 and are in pre-trial detention.
On 24 June 2025, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office indicted the five men, who are suspected of having committed crimes against humanity and war crimes in Yarmouk.
Another three alleged FPM members suspected of participating in the crackdown on the protest in Yarmouk on 13 July 2012 were arrested in Sweden at the same time. The Joint Investigation Team “Caesar” coordinated the investigations.