A Syrian doctor accused of torturing and murdering anti-government protesters in Syria has told a German court that he felt sorry for detainees who were mistreated while rejecting the allegations.
Alaa Mousa, who is on trial in Germany for crimes against humanity, worked at a military hospital in Syria, where prosecutors say he kicked and beat inmates, doused a teenage boy's genitals in alcohol before setting them alight and operated on a patient without anaesthesia.
He has denied the allegations, saying he did not strike any detainees and “would never” operate without anaesthesia.
In total, Mr Mousa stands accused of 18 counts of torturing detainees in Damascus and the western city of Homs between 2011-12. He also faces one count of murder for allegedly administering a lethal injection to a prisoner who resisted interrogation, federal prosecutors said.
“I saw the military secret service beating injured detainees. I felt sorry for them, but I couldn't say anything, or it would have been me instead of the patient,” he told a Frankfurt court.
The case comes after a German court sentenced a former Syrian intelligence official to life in prison for overseeing the murder of 27 people and the torture of 4,000 others at a detention centre in Damascus a decade ago.
That trial was made possible under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows offences to be prosecuted even if committed in a foreign country.
Referring back to 2011 when the regime of Bashar Al Assad brutally cracked down on protesters, Mr Mousa said some demonstrators showed signs they had been tortured.
Mr Mousa said he never asked questions, having been told by his superior that the military secret service was “in control” of the hospital.
On at least one occasion, the doctor said he witnessed a blindfolded patient, his hands tied behind his back, being assaulted by members of the military secret service and some of the military medical staff working at the hospital.
“I was very scared of the military secret service and also of the medical staff that just joined in,” he told the court.
He also described it as “inhumane” to keep patients blindfolded while they were being sutured or otherwise treated.
Asked whether he felt sympathy for the demonstrators, Mr Mousa said neither he nor his family were political activists. “But I also wasn't a super supporter of the regime.”
The anti-Assad protests started off peacefully, he recalled, but he said they quickly turned more “radical”.
“I'm against violence on either side,” he added.
The doctor left Syria for Germany in mid-2015, arriving on a visa for skilled workers, but was arrested in 2020.
The biog
Job: Fitness entrepreneur, body-builder and trainer
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
GOLF’S RAHMBO
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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JAPANESE GRAND PRIX INFO
Schedule (All times UAE)
First practice: Friday, 5-6.30am
Second practice: Friday, 9-10.30am
Third practice: Saturday, 7-8am
Qualifying: Saturday, 10-11am
Race: Sunday, 9am-midday
Race venue: Suzuka International Racing Course
Circuit Length: 5.807km
Number of Laps: 53
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