Sisi, Burhan Call for Legally Binding Agreement on GERD

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
TT
20

Sisi, Burhan Call for Legally Binding Agreement on GERD

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Head of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Cairo on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed Wednesday with Head of Sudan’s Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan the latest regional developments and bilateral ties.

They agreed to carry on intensive consultations and joint coordination on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issues, considering it a matter of national security.

The officials also reaffirmed their unwavering stance in seeking a legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the mega dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River in a way that achieves the three countries’ common interests.

Cairo underlined the importance of joint action, provided that current developments do not affect efforts to help Sudan achieve political and economic stability and maintain security.

Both countries issued a joint statement underlining the importance of boosting economic ties and increasing trade exchange in a way that amounts to the existing momentum in political relations and historical ties that unite the two brotherly peoples.

Egypt vowed to send aid packages and logistical and humanitarian support to Sudan, provide technical support to Sudanese cadres and activate all bilateral cooperation programs based on Cairo’s unlimited support for Khartoum.

Sudan said it is proud of the firm ties between the two countries on all levels.

It commended the “mutual efforts to promote joint bilateral cooperation and Egypt’s sincere and relentless support to preserve Sudan’s safety and stability.



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)
TT
20

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.