Authorities in Germany and Sweden announced the arrest Wednesday of eight people suspected of crimes against humanity in connection with a crackdown on peaceful protesters in Syria in 2012.
German prosecutors said those arrested in Germany included four stateless Syrian Palestinians who were affiliated with a Syrian militia and a Syrian national who was a government intelligence officer.
The prosecutors said those arrested “participated in the violent crackdown on a peaceful anti-government protest” in the Al-Yarmouk district of Syria’s capital, Damascus.
“They and other accessories specifically targeted the civilian protesters, shooting at them,” the German prosecutors said.
The militia members also “physically abused civilians” at checkpoints and other locations from mid-2012 to 2014, authorities said in a statement.
The three suspects arrested in Sweden were part of the same militia as those arrested in Germany, according to the German prosecutors.
Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
