Driebergen – The police are looking for witnesses to international crimes committed in Syria. More about this was said tonight in the television program Opsporing Verzocht. This specifically concerns an execution in Yalda, near Damascus in January 2014. The appeal is addressed to people who were in Syria at the time.
Serious war crimes were committed in Damascus in the southern neighborhoods of Yalda and Al-Hajar al-Aswad between September 2013 and the end of January 2014. A coalition to which IS belonged took up arms there against the Liwa al-Hajar al-Aswad fighting group.
At least twelve executions
The capture of opponents at the time may have involved a then 37-year-old Syrian man arrested in Arkel. At least twelve of the prisoners were executed by Islamic State at a power plant in Yalda in mid-January 2014. The Syrian, known by the nickname Abu Khaled al Amni, applied for asylum in our country in 2019 and has remained in custody since his arrest in January 2023.
Suspicion
He is suspected of having held a leadership position within the IS security service in southern Damascus between 2013 and 2018. During that period, IS was guilty of, among other things, torture and executions.
Call for witnesses
IS has interrogated the victims for at least two of those executions. Images are available that are now being investigated by the International Crimes Team (TIM). The investigators would like to map out who exactly was involved in the captures and executions.
That is why the TIM calls on every possible witness who was there around the incidents in Syria. There is particular interest in people who have seen the victims being held in an IS prison or who have seen who was involved in their execution. Please contact us using the details below.
Special telephone number
Are you or do you know someone who may have witnessed one or more of the incidents? You can share your information with the investigation team via the usual police numbers. For this research you can also send a message via WhatsApp, Viber or Signal. The TIM can be reached for these messages on +31 6 186 286 80. After receiving your message, the team will contact you. You can also complete the tip form at the bottom of this page or send an email to: warcrimes@politie.nl.
If you have photo or video material that may be relevant to the investigation, please report this in one of the ways mentioned. You can get an upload link to send your images safely.
Respond online
Give your tip
You can also add photos or movies.
Information source: Politie.nl
