Suspected commander of Jabhat al-Nusra battalion arrested in the Netherlands
This Tuesday, the police has arrested a 47 year old Syrian in Kapelle, the Netherlands, on suspicion of committing war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria. The man is accused of participating in the armed struggle as a commander of a terrorist Jabhat al-Nusra battalion. The man fought under the name of Abu Khuder. The battalion which the suspect allegedly commanded became known as Ghuraba’a Mohassan (Strangers of Mohassan).
The suspect’s house has been searched. Documents, a computer and a smartphone have been seized.
Germany
Simultaneously six homes of other suspected members of Ghuraba’a Mohassan have been searched in Germany in a coordinated action. These searches were conducted within an separate German investigation. Moreover, the house of a man in Ede, the Netherlands, has been searched, as this man was allegedly in contact with the suspect.
Temporary asylum
The arrested Syrian has resided in the Netherlands since 2014 and was granted a temporary asylum permit. The criminal investigation against him started with information from the German police, who provided witness testimonies against the suspect.
The arrested Syrian has been taken into custody today and will be brought before the examining judge of the District Court in The Hague on Friday. This Court has been appointed to rule on cases concerning international crimes, including war crimes.