Facts
The “Free Palestine Movement” (FPM) is a Palestinian Syrian armed movement. In 2012, upon the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, it formed a number of armed militias which fought on the side of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and the former Syrian government.
During the period 2012 to 2014, the militia took part in exercising control over the Damascus district of Yarmouk on behalf of the former Syrian regime. During this period, the militia was implicated in serious abuses of civilians, including during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the district in July 2012, when members of the militia are reported to have shot at civilian protestors, killing and injuring many.
Procedure
In July 2024, three individuals were arrested in Sweden on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria during the period 2012 to 2014.
The arrests took place in coordination with Germany, Europol and Eurojust, as part of the joint investigation team “Caesar.” As part of the same investigation, five individuals were arrested in Germany on the same day.
On 26 September 2025, the Swedish Prosecution Authority indicted one of the individuals, a 55-year-old Swedish national, on two counts of serious war crimes committed in Syria in 2012 and 2013. The individual is alleged to have been involved in a violent attack on a peaceful demonstration in the Damascus district of Yarmouk on 13 July 2012. During this attack, several civilians were shot dead and others were injured. During the first half of 2013, he is also alleged to have been involved in manning a checkpoint in connection with the siege of Yarmouk by the Syrian regime and regime-affiliated armed groups, where a large number of civilians were arrested. Many of those arrested were transferred to the custody of the Syrian security services, where they were subjected to severe suffering and, in several cases, were killed.
The investigation into the other two individuals was completed without indictment.
The trial began on 20 October 2025.
On 4 May 2026, the Court found the defendant guilty of war crimes for participating in two grave incidents during the armed conflict in Syria. These include his involvement in a violent attack on a peaceful demonstration in Yarmouk, Damascus, on 13 July 2012, which resulted in the killing and injury of civilians, as well as his role at a checkpoint in Yarmouk between December 2012 and the end July 2013. At this checkpoint, civilians were identified, detained, and transferred to Syrian security forces, where they were subjected to torture, inhuman treatment, and, in some cases, death. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.