Paris trial: 10 years sought for ex-Syrian rebel

Ten years in prison, with a security period of two-thirds, were requested Monday in Paris against an ex-Syrian rebel, Majdi Nema, for the offense of participating in an agreement to prepare war crimes.

This former member of the Syrian Salafist group Jaysh al-Islam (JAI, Army of Islam), who just turned 37, was arrested in France in 2020 and has since been held in pre-trial detention.

Majdi Nema has been on trial since April 29 before the Paris Assize Court under the universal jurisdiction of the French judiciary, which allows it, under certain conditions, to try a foreigner for crimes committed abroad against foreigners.

In a dual-voice indictment, which lasted nearly six hours in total, the two solicitors general worked to demonstrate that Nema played a more significant role than he wanted to appear during both the investigation and the trial.

“We accuse Majdi Nema of providing unwavering support, absolute intellectual approval, and decisive operational assistance” to JAI through his roles as spokesman and through his political and military functions, they declared.

To this end, they requested that he be found guilty of participating in an agreement to prepare war crimes.

Regarding the complicity in war crimes, the solicitors general requested that he be acquitted of this charge for which he faced a 20-year prison sentence.

The representatives of the prosecution emphasized that it was necessary to determine his “concrete role” in the recruitment of minors he is suspected of.

Nema denies the accusations, claiming in particular that he acted as a spokesman from Turkey and thus cannot be accused of these acts committed in Syria.

For this aspect, the case “relies on witness statements” that “gathered confidences from their relatives,” which “cannot suffice as a basis for a conviction decision,” admitted the solicitors general, therefore requesting Majdi Nema's acquittal on this count.