Terror trial: Suspected IS fighters in court in Munich

A criminal trial against three Syrians accused of membership in foreign terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State terrorist network, will begin on September 16 at the Munich Higher Regional Court. The court has scheduled 29 days of hearings, meaning a verdict could not be reached until mid-December. The trial will take place under considerable security precautions. The chairman of the State Security Senate at the Higher Regional Court has issued a 14-page security order, which, among other things, regulates searches of those involved in the trial and listeners.

Shiites killed and expelled

Among those on trial is the alleged founder and leader of the terrorist organization “Liwa Jund al-Rahman” (“Brigade of the Soldiers of the Merciful”), a rebel group whose mission was, among other things, to overthrow the Syrian government. Under his leadership and with the participation of another of the defendants, an attack on a Shiite village in Syria is said to have taken place in June 2013, in which 60 people were killed and the remaining residents were driven out. There was looting and destruction, and thus war crimes.

Oil wells exploited for personal benefit

The leader is said to have used the proceeds from oil wells captured and exploited by his terror unit on his orders not only to pay his fighters, but also for himself and his family. He is said to have later joined the Islamic State terror network and placed his own terror brigade under the command of the network. The second defendant is said to have also had command authority in the brigade. The third is said to have been responsible for public relations, such as producing propaganda videos. Two of the three men were arrested last year in Kiel and Munich, the third in April this year in Dortmund, all of whom have been remanded in custody.