A Syrian charged with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in his home country between 2011 and 2016 has been detained in Belgium pending a court hearing next week, judicial officials said Monday.
The defendant, a man identified as Hossin A., is suspected of belonging to a militia close to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Salamiyah in the country's west, and of helping to violently suppress opposition movements that began in 2011.
He has been in Belgium for the past seven or eight years, according to federal prosecutors.
The defendant's Brussels-area home was searched on January 23, along with two companies he had ties to, as a result of an investigation opened in 2021.
He was brought before a Brussels judge the following day and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria.
He had been due to appear in court again on Monday but the hearing was postponed at the defence's request until February 8, according to judicial officials. He remains in custody until then.
