BERLIN (Reuters) – Lawyers representing victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria say they have filed criminal complaints with Germany’s federal public prosecutor against Syrian officials they blame for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in rebel-held areas.
Germany, which is home to 600,000 Syrians, has “universal jurisdiction” laws that allow it to prosecute people for crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.
Attempts by Western powers to set up an international tribunal for Syria have been blocked by Russia and China at the U.N. Security Council.
The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad denies it has used chemical weapons against its own civilians.
A spokesman for the Public Prosecutor General (GBA) was not immediately available to confirm the complaint had been submitted.
“Prosecutors may ultimately determine they have sufficient evidence to issue arrest warrants for members of the Assad regime,” said Steve Kostas, a lawyer with the Open Society Foundation’s Justice Initiative, one of three organisations behind the complaints.
(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Alex Richardson)
