Key facts
- Salem Michel Al-Salem, a former Syrian Air Force intelligence colonel, faces charges of crimes against humanity.
- He is accused of three counts of murder, three counts of torture, and one charge of conduct ancillary to murder.
- The charges stem from alleged events in Damascus in 2011 and 2012.
- Al-Salem has been deemed unfit to plead and stand trial due to advanced motor neurone disease.
- A trial of the facts will be held in 2027 to determine if the alleged acts occurred, though Al-Salem will not participate.
- This marks the first time charges of murder as crimes against humanity have been brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 in the UK.
A former Syrian Air Force intelligence colonel, Salem Michel Al-Salem, 58, has been declared unfit to plead or stand trial for crimes against humanity at London's Old Bailey. The decision by Justice Cheema-Grubb follows the unified opinion of four medical experts who diagnosed Al-Salem with advanced motor neurone disease (MND), which has left him paralysed and unable to communicate effectively.
Al-Salem faces charges including three counts of murder as a crime against humanity, three counts of torture, and one charge of conduct ancillary to murder. These allegations relate to events in Damascus between 2011 and 2012, when he was a colonel leading a group tasked with quelling civilian protests. Prosecutors allege he ordered officers under his command to shoot protesters and personally fired on demonstrators, leading to deaths.
His defence counsel, Patrick Gibb KC, informed the court of Al-Salem's advanced MND, paralysis, and severely restricted speech. Prosecutor Tom Little KC accepted the medical findings. The Crown Prosecution Service highlighted that this is the first time charges of murder as crimes against humanity have been brought under the International Criminal Court Act 2001 in the UK, and it is believed to be the first prosecution in the UK of an alleged member of ex-President Bashar al-Assad's security forces for crimes related to the Syrian civil war.
Despite being deemed unfit to stand trial, a trial of the facts will be held next year to determine whether Al-Salem committed the acts he is accused of. He appeared in court via video link wearing an oxygen mask and remains on conditional bail.