© ANP
Syrian Ahmad Al K. during a previous session.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) wants Syrian asylum seeker Ahmad Al K. to go to prison for 27 years because of his involvement in the execution of a Syrian soldier. That demand was pronounced today in the extra-secure court in Rotterdam. Al K. is being prosecuted for a war crime and for participating in a terrorist organization.
It is the first time that a Syrian refugee has been brought before a court for such a serious offense, and the demand from the Public Prosecution Service is therefore considerable. 49-year-old Ahmad Al K. has lived in the Netherlands since 2014, and was arrested two years ago in Kapelle, a town in Zeeland.
Al K. is suspected of leading the execution of a Syrian soldier. Al K. is also said to have led a brigade of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra.
war crime
During that execution, a tortured and seriously wounded Syrian soldier was shot dead on the bank of the Euphrates River. A gruesome video, which appeared on YouTube after the execution, shows the bare-chested victim being led to the bank of the river. He was shot at 26 times there, with a revolver and a Kalashnikov.
© Presented by RTL Nieuws
According to the OM, the images show that Al K. shot the victim six times with the revolver, and hit him at least once. Killing a victim who is no longer in combat is a war crime.
Several videos have been made of the execution showing the involvement of Al K., says the Public Prosecution Service, which had the images analyzed extensively. Al K. himself says that he acted under pressure from others, and that he deliberately missed the mark.
Ahmad Al K. lived in Kapelle in Zeeland with his wife and seven children. Neighbors of the Syrian were shocked at his arrest: in his neighborhood Al K. was known as a friendly, sociable neighbor. He was a member of the local football club and the family attended church services. Al K. also worked at the neighborhood bus.
He came into the picture after a tip from the German police, who were investigating other members of the Al K battalion. In that investigation, several witnesses came forward with statements against Al K. The investigation also included a new video of the execution. found, which according to the OM clearly shows that Al K. was the leader of the group that killed the soldier
Major investigation
The Dutch police have made great efforts to prosecute Al K.: an undercover agent and wiretapped telephone conversations were used in the investigation, and dozens of Syrian witnesses were interrogated. One of them was interrogated via WhatsApp.
It is the first time that someone has been tried in the Netherlands for an execution in Syria. The court will rule on July 16. RTL Nieuws reporter Geert Gordijn was present at the trial:
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