Germany jails Syrian man for war crimes in Damascus

BERLIN

A German court on Thursday sentenced a 55-year-old Syrian man to life in prison for committing war crimes in Syria.

Mouafak D. was convicted of four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, by intentionally firing a grenade into a group of civilians.

The Berlin Higher Court ruled that there was sufficient evidence to prove that Mouafak D. carried out the attack in 2014, in the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus.

At that time, the camp was controlled by armed opposition groups, and it was encircled by the Syrian regime forces.

At least four civilians were killed in the grenade attack, but the actual number could be higher, the presiding judge said.

The Berlin court ruled out any parole before Mouafak D. serves 15 years -- the average life term in Germany -- “due to the exceptional severity of the crimes” he committed.

The accused was arrested in Berlin in 2021, a few years after he arrived Germany as a refugee.