Swedish court acquits former Syrian general of war crimes charges

A Stockholm court acquitted a former Syrian general of war crimes charges on Thursday. The prosecution had not proven his alleged involvement in the attacks carried out during the Syrian civil war.

Former Brigadier General Mohammed Hamo, 65, who lives in Sweden and was one of the highest-ranking Syrian military officers to stand trial in Europe, was charged with “compelling and facilitating” war crimes in the first half of 2012.

In its ruling, the Stockholm District Court said that although the Syrian military had carried out “indiscriminate attacks” at the time, the prosecution had not proven that Hamo’s division had been involved in those attacks or that it had played a role in procuring the weapons for the attacks.

In his role as brigadier general and head of the 11th Division’s armament unit, Hamo is said to have helped coordinate the delivery of weapons and ammunition to units involved in such attacks near the cities of Homs and Hama.

“The main questions in the case are whether the Syrian Army’s 11th Division was involved in indiscriminate attacks in certain areas and whether the defendant was involved in arming the division in those attacks,” wrote Judge Katarina Fabian.

“In the District Court’s opinion, there is no evidence to resolve these questions. The evidence presented by the prosecution is therefore not considered sufficient to convict the defendant of a crime,” Fabian said.

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

More than half a million people have been killed, millions displaced and Syria’s economy and infrastructure devastated.

The prosecution argued that the Syrian army’s “large-scale air and ground attacks” had caused damage “out of proportion to the concrete and immediate military advantages that could be expected from them.”

Hamo denied any criminal responsibility and his lawyer Mari Kilman stated in court that the officer could not be held liable for the acts “because he acted in a military context and had to follow orders.”

“What is remarkable about this case is that it is the first trial to deal with the Syrian military’s conduct of war – that is, how the war was carried out,” says Aida Samani, legal counsel at the human rights group Civil Rights Defenders, who observed the trial.

No European court has previously addressed this issue and its impact on civilian lives and infrastructure, she added.

“It is probably disappointing for the victims and those affected by these war crimes,” Samani said after the acquittal was announced.

“At the same time, the District Court concludes that several of these attacks constitute war crimes. And it is important in itself that this is confirmed for the first time by an independent court,” she continued.

Hamo is the highest-ranking military official to face personal trial in Europe, although other countries have sought to bring charges against higher-ranking officials.

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 that Rifaat al-Assad – who recently returned to Syria after 37 years in exile – will appear at the trial, for which no date has yet been set.

Swiss law allows trials in the absence of the accused 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 related to chemical weapons attacks in 2013.

In addition, three more international arrest warrants were issued against Bashar al-Assad’s brother Maher, the de facto commander of the army’s elite Fourth Division, and two generals.

In May, a Paris court also sentenced three high-ranking Syrian security officials to life imprisonment for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The defendants – Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Bureau, Jamil Hassan, former director of Air Force Intelligence, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, former head of the investigation – were all tried in absentia, but international arrest warrants have been issued against them.

In January 2022, a German court sentenced former Colonel Anwar Raslan to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity. This was the first international trial for state-sponsored torture in Syria and was celebrated by victims as a victory for justice.