Swedish court acquits former Syrian general of war crimes charges

A Stockholm court on Thursday acquitted a Syrian former general of war crimes charges, saying prosecutors had not proved his involvement in the attacks carried out during the country's civil war.

Former brigadier general Mohammed Hamo, 65, who lives in Sweden and was one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officials to stand trial in Europe. He stood accused of "aiding and abetting" war crimes in the first half of 2012.

The Stockholm district court said that while the Syrian military had used "indiscriminate attacks" at that time, the prosecution had not proved that Hamo's division had been involved in those attacks, or that he had had a role in providing arms for the assaults.

Prosecutors had argued that Hamo, in his role as brigadier general and head of the 11th division's armament unit, had helped coordinate the supply of arms and ammunition to units involved in attacks near the towns of Homs and Hama.

"The main issues in the case are whether the 11th Division of the Syrian Army participated in indiscriminate attacks in certain areas and whether the defendant participated in arming the division in those attacks," judge Katarina Fabian wrote in a court statement issuing the verdict.

- 'Indiscriminate attacks' -

"According to the District Court, there is no evidence to clarify these issues," Fabian added. "The evidence presented by the prosecution has therefore not been deemed sufficient to convict the defendant of a criminal offence."

Prosecutor Karolina Wieslander told AFP she would need to review the verdict in detail before deciding whether to appeal.

She has until July 11 to decide.

Wieslander said the acquittal showed the difficulties in "investigating these types of crimes within military structures."

"What is positive in the ruling is that the court concludes that the Syrian regime has carried out indiscriminate attacks" in the region, she added.

The war between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and armed opposition groups, including Islamic State, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.

It has killed more than half a million people, forced millions to feel their homes, and ravaged Syria's economy and infrastructure.

Hamo denied criminal responsibility and his lawyer, Mari Kilman, told the court at the outset of the trial that the officer could not be held liable for the actions "as he had acted in a military context and had to follow orders".

- Still important -

Aida Samani, senior legal advisor at rights group Civil Rights Defenders, which has been monitoring the trial, stressed the importance of the trial.

"What is noteworthy about this case is that this is the first trial concerning the Syrian military's warfare -- that is, how the warfare was carried out."

No European court has previously dealt with this issue and the impact on civilian lives and infrastructure, she added.

"It is likely disappointing for victims and those affected by these war crimes," Samani said of the verdict.

But it was still important that the court concluded that "several of these attacks amount to war crimes", she added.

Hamo is the highest-ranking military official to go on trial in Europe in person, though other countries have tried to bring charges against more senior members.

In March, Swiss prosecutors charged Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of President Bashar al-Assad, with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

However, it remains unlikely Rifaat al-Assad -- who recently returned to Syria after 37 years in exile -- will show up for the trial, for which a date has yet to be set.

Swiss law allows for trials in absentia under certain conditions.

In November, France issued an international arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad, accusing him of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes over chemical attacks in 2013.

Three other international warrants were also issued for the arrests of Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher, the de facto chief of the army's elite Fourth Division, and two generals.

And in May, a Paris court ordered life prison sentences for three top Syrian security officials for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The accused -- Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Bureau; Jamil Hassan, former director of the Air Force intelligence service; and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, former head of investigations -- were all tried in absentia, but there are international warrants for their arrest.

In January 2022, a German court sentenced former colonel Anwar Raslan to life in jail for crimes against humanity.

That was the first international trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria and was hailed by victims as a victory for justice.