A former spokesman for a Syrian Islamist rebel group told a French court on Monday that Turkey refused to pursue a war crimes case, including the recruitment of minors to fight for the group, which he said he had prepared against his own organization.
Majdi Nema, also known by the nom de guerre Islam Alloush, said he had spent more than a year gathering evidence of child recruitment and other crimes by the Jaish al-Islam (JAI) group while living in Turkey, where he was based during his time as the group’s spokesman.
“I worked on this case for a year and a half and unfortunately Turkey refused,” Nema said, describing himself as a “whistleblower” who tried to hold JAI accountable after leaving the group.
His claim, made during his ongoing trial in Paris, surprised judges and defense lawyers. French prosecutors have charged the 36-year-old with complicity in war crimes committed between 2013 and 2016.
Defense lawyer Marc Bailly questioned the credibility of hhis client’s new account, pointing to earlier statements in which he had pledged loyalty to JAI.
Nema was arrested in Marseille in January 2020 after traveling to France in late 2019 on a university exchange program.
France has jurisdiction under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecution of serious international crimes committed abroad.
JAI, one of the largest factions fighting Bashar al-Assad’s forces during Syria’s civil war, has been accused of terrorizing civilians in areas it controlled.
Syria’s conflict, which began in 2011 with a government crackdown on protests, has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions.
Assad was eventually overthrown by Islamist-led fighters in December.
Turkey played a central role in Syria’s conflict, serving as a key backer of rebel groups fighting against Assad’s government. It hosted political opposition figures, provided military support to some factions and allowed fighters, including members of JAI, to operate from its territory.
Critics have accused Turkey of enabling abuses by opposition groups under its influence.
© Agence France-Presse