A French court on Wednesday, May 28, jailed a former Syrian Islamist rebel to 10 years for his role in atrocities committed in Syria's civil war in the country's first universal justice case.
Majdi Nema, a former spokesman of the rebel group Jaish al-Islam, was found guilty by a Paris court of complicity in war crimes − specifically of conscription of minors aged 15 to 18 − and of helping to prepare war crimes.
French authorities arrested Nema in the southern city of Marseille in 2020, after he traveled to the country on a student exchange program. He was charged under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute suspects accused of serious crimes regardless of where they were committed. This was the first time that crimes committed during Syria's civil war were tried in France under the universal jurisdiction.
Nema − better known by his nom de guerre of Islam Alloush − told the Paris court there was no evidence to back charges against him. He has said he only played a "limited role" in the armed group that held sway in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus between 2013 and 2016.
Jaish al-Islam was one of the main opposition groups fighting Bashar al-Assad's government before Islamist-led fighters toppled him in December. It has also been accused of terrorizing civilians in areas it controlled.