https://arab.news/5b2m4
- They received sentences ranging from four and a half to nearly 10 years
- All three belonged to an armed rebel group called Liwa Jund Al-Rahman
BERLIN: A German court on Tuesday sentenced three Syrian men to prison for involvement in a foreign terrorist group during the civil war after a trial that lasted more than a year.
The three defendants, identified only partially as Amer Tarak A., Sohail A. and Basel O., received sentences ranging from four and a half to nearly 10 years from the Munich court.
All three belonged to an armed rebel group called Liwa Jund Al-Rahman, which Amer Tarak A. allegedly founded, and two were also found guilty of war crimes.
The group fought against Syrian ruler Bashar Assad and later merged with the jihadist Daesh group.
Amer Tarak A. allegedly seized control of an oil field in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, using the profits to fund his armed group and enrich his family.
He also ordered a massacre of Shiite Muslims in the village of Hatla, which was filmed by co-defendant Sohail A.
The presiding judge in the case sought expert testimony to place the crimes in the context of the long Syrian civil war.
The armed rebel group reportedly started as a secular force aimed at fighting the regular Syrian army — but took on Islamist traits before joining the IS group in 2013.
The defendants tried to argue that they were engaged in a legitimate armed struggle for freedom against the Assad regime.
But that defense was rejected by the Munich court.
All three men fled Syria for Germany after the defeat of the IS group.
The men could still appeal against the verdict, reached after more than 14 months of proceedings.