Egypt FM Reiterates Support for Morocco’s Territorial Integrity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
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Egypt FM Reiterates Support for Morocco’s Territorial Integrity

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has reiterated his country’s firm support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and serious efforts to resolve the Western Sahara region’s dispute.

Shoukry and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita held talks via videoconference on Thursday, during which they discussed bilateral relations and developments in regional issues of common interest.

Both ministers stressed the importance of bolstering the economic and investment relations to serve their people’s interests.

They pointed to the two countries’ ability to improve cooperation in various fields, given their strategic location, economic capabilities and human competencies.

They further expressed hope the health conditions in light of the coronavirus pandemic would improve to set a date for the fourth round of the Coordination and Political Consultation Mechanism in Cairo, as soon as possible.

This mechanism is institutional and enables the two countries to exchange visions and enhance coordination on various regional issues.

The FMs also agreed that the situation in the Arab world requires intensifying bilateral consultation and coordination, stressing the reinforcement of solidarity to address the complex challenges faced by the region’s states.

Bourita and Shoukry also stressed their countries’ adherence to the security and stability of the Arab region, their rejection of foreign interventions in its affairs and the importance of respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

Talks also tackled the Palestinian cause, and Shoukry hailed the efforts of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of al-Quds Committee, in defending the Holy City as a land for coexistence among divine religions.

In addition, they discussed the situation in Libya and stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive settlement that ensures the country’s security, stability and the prosperity of its people.



Germany Hands Syrian Doctor Life for Torturing Assad Critics

Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
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Germany Hands Syrian Doctor Life for Torturing Assad Critics

Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)
Syrian doctor Alaa M., accused of crimes against humanity, arrives for his judgment in the security room of the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 16 June 2025. (EPA)

A Syrian doctor who had practiced in Germany was sentenced to life in prison by a German court on Monday for crimes against humanity and war crimes after he was found guilty of torturing dissidents in Syria.

The 40-year-old, identified only as Alaa M. in accordance with German privacy laws, was found guilty of killing two people and torturing another eight during his time working in Syria as a doctor at a military hospital and detention center in Homs in 2011 and 2012.

The court said his crimes were part of a systematic attack against people protesting against then-President Bashar al-Assad that precipitated the country's civil war.

Assad was toppled in December. His government denied it tortured prisoners.

Alaa M. arrived in Germany in 2015, after fleeing to Germany among a large influx of Syrian refugees, and became one of roughly 10,000 Syrian medics who helped ease acute staff shortages in the country's healthcare system.

He was arrested in June 2020, and was handed a life sentence without parole, the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt said in a statement.

The defendant had pleaded not guilty, saying he was the target of a conspiracy.

German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to seek trials for suspects in crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world.

They have targeted several former Syrian officials in similar cases in recent years.

The plaintiffs were supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.

ECCHR lawyer Patrick Kroker called Monday's ruling "a further step towards a comprehensive reckoning with Assad's crimes".

Judges found that the doctor caused "considerable physical suffering" as a result of the torture inflicted on his victims, which included serious beatings, mistreating wounds and inflicting serious injury to the genitals of two prisoners, one of whom was a teenage boy.

Two patients died after he gave them lethal medication, the court statement said.

Monday's ruling can be appealed.