Syrian Islamist rebel ex-spokesman on trial in France over war crimes

A Syrian Islamist rebel ex-spokesman went on trial in France on Tuesday, accused of complicity in war crimes during Syria's civil conflict. It is the first time such crimes have been tried in France under the principle of universal jurisdiction. French authorities arrested Majdi Nema, now 36, in the southern city of Marseille in 2020, after he travelled to the country on a student exchange programme.

He was detained and charged under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute suspects accused of serious crimes regardless of where they were committed. Nema – better known by his nom-de-guerre of Islam Alloush – has been charged with complicity in war crimes between 2013 and 2016, when he was spokesman for a Syrian Islamist rebel group called Jaish al-Islam. However, Nema has said he only had a "limited role" in the armed opposition group that held sway in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus during that period.



Jaish al-Islam was one of the main opposition groups fighting Bashar al-Assad 's government before Islamist-led fighters toppled him in December, but it has also been accused of terrorising civilians in areas it controlled. Nema, who faces up to 20 years in jail if found guilty, has in particular been accused of helping recruit children and teenagers to fight for the group. Complex conflict It was the FIDH that discovered Nema was in France during research into Jaish al-Islam's hierarchy and informed the French authorities.

They were tried in absentia. Read more on RFI English Read also: Prosecutors call for life sentences in Islamic State Syria kidnappings trial France condemns Syrian violence as security forces accused of killing civilians International donors pledge €5.8bn to help new leaders rebuild Syria.