Syrian president’s uncle to stand trial in Switzerland for war crimes

AFP | Geneva          

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, will stand trial in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Swiss attorney general said yesterday.

The office of Switzerland’s Attorney General (OAG) said it was charging the former Syrian vice president and former Syrian army officer with a long list of crimes committed in February 1982, during a conflict between the Syrian military and Islamist opposition.

“The accused is charged with ordering homicides, acts of torture, cruel treatments and illegal detentions ... in his capacity as commander of the defense brigades ... and commander of operations in Hama,” it said.

It said the alleged “war crimes and crimes against humanity” he was being charged with had taken place “within the context of the armed conflict and the widespread and systematic attack launched against the population of the city of Hama,” in central Syria.

Syrian security forces had been deployed to Hama in early February 1982 to suppress an insurrection by the Islamist opposition, and the operation allegedly ended at the end of the same month. The OAG highlighted the defense brigades, which Rifaat al-Assad commanded, “were purportedly the main forces in charge of the suppression.”

“In this context, several thousands of civilians were allegedly victims of different abuses, ranging from immediate execution to detention and torture in specifically-created centers, according to several testimonies,” it said.