A Syrian man has been charged with murder as a crime against humanity in the first prosecution of its kind in the UK.
The Metropolitan Police charged the 58-year-old with three counts of murder, three counts of torture and one count of accessory to murder in connection with the time he served as part of a charge of crimes against humanity. Syrian Air Force Intelligence (SAFI).
The crimes allegedly took place in April 2011 when he was leading a group trying to end demonstrations in the village of Jobar, near Damascus.
The Crown Prosecution Service said it was the first murder charge brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 for crimes against humanity.
It is alleged that these crimes took place in Jobar village. Image: Reuters
A person was arrested at the address Buckinghamshire in December 2021 and was released on bail pending Monday’s arraignment.
The man, who now lives in the UK, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, the force said.
An investigation was launched by the War Crimes Unit of the Counter-Terrorism Policing (CTP).
Commander Helen Flanagan, who leads CTP London, said: “This is an incredibly complex and challenging investigation, involving inquiries in multiple countries.
“This requires close cooperation with a number of international partners and our colleagues at CPS.
“The allegations are extremely serious and show that we fully support the UK’s ‘no safe haven’ policy in relation to alleged war criminals.
“If we are presented with allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity that fall within our jurisdiction, we will not hesitate to investigate, as we have shown here, rigorously and robustly.”
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CTP officials are understood to have received a referral in November 2020 regarding allegations made against an individual in the Syrian Armed Forces in the early 2010s.
