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Belgium Launches Syria Violations Probe, Detains War Crimes Suspect

The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
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Belgium Launches Syria Violations Probe, Detains War Crimes Suspect

The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo
The trial of former Syrian intelligence officers Iyad al-Ghareeb and Anwar Raslan in Koblenz, Germany. AFP file photo

Belgium has joined other European nations in pursuing perpetrators of war crimes in Syria since 2011.

Belgian police arrested Hussein A. based on a warrant charging him with committing crimes against humanity.

He has been remanded in custody awaiting the issuance of formal charges, a process that may take several months.

Hussein A. served as a commander in a militia affiliated with the “National Defense Committees” in the Syrian Salamiyah region near Hama.

He was responsible for the arrest and handover of detainees to branches of the military security apparatus of the Syrian army in Hama.

Syrian lawyer Anwar Al-Bunni has prepared the case against Hussein A. and submitted it to the Belgian prosecutor general.

Al-Bunni stated that the accused delivered detainees to centers, knowing that they would be subjected to torture.

Moreover, Al-Bunni added that the case of Hussein A. is linked to another case involving an individual arrested two months ago in the Netherlands.

This individual was also a commander in a militia affiliated with the National Defense Committees and remains in custody awaiting formal charges and trial.

Al-Bunni clarified that the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research has managed to gather more than 10 witnesses in the case of Hussein A., all of whom are victims who have experienced arrest and torture.

In 2015, Hussein A. came to Belgium for a family reunion and applied for Belgian citizenship, but the decision is still pending.

This case is Belgium’s first against individuals accused of war crimes in Syria. It’s part of a broader effort led by al-Bunni, who is compiling cases against those fleeing Syria for Europe.

Al-Bunni relies on the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing Western countries to prosecute criminals for crimes committed abroad.

Germany, followed by France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and now Belgium, all have initiated legal proceedings against former Syrian officers.

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World

France, UK Eye 'Real Progress' in Hormuz Plan

Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey (R) and Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) Lieutenant General Nick Perry attend a 'Strait of Hormuz Military Planning Conference' at the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, north-west London on April 23, 2026. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey (R) and Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) Lieutenant General Nick Perry attend a 'Strait of Hormuz Military Planning Conference' at the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, north-west London on April 23, 2026. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP)
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France, UK Eye 'Real Progress' in Hormuz Plan

Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey (R) and Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) Lieutenant General Nick Perry attend a 'Strait of Hormuz Military Planning Conference' at the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, north-west London on April 23, 2026. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP)
Britain's Defense Secretary John Healey (R) and Chief of Joint Operations (CJO) Lieutenant General Nick Perry attend a 'Strait of Hormuz Military Planning Conference' at the Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood, north-west London on April 23, 2026. (Photo by Alastair Grant / POOL / AFP)

Britain and France Thursday voiced hope that military plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.

At a two-day meeting in London, military planners discussed the practicalities of a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the key waterway following a sustainable ceasefire, top defense officials said.

The aim is to form a "defensive, multinational mission that will strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping, and, if necessary, clear mines and protect vessels when the hostilities end", AFP quoted British defense minister John Healey as saying.

The British ministry said the meeting involved more than 44 countries from every continent.

Healey and French counterpart Catherine Vautrin said in a joint statement they were "confident that real progress can be made".

"International trade, energy, and economic stability for all our nations depend on freedom of navigation" in the strait, Healey told those attending.

He called for "practical military plans", saying "millions of people" were relying on a successful outcome from the meeting.

"We can't let them down," he said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said more than a dozen countries have agreed to participate in the mission to free up navigation in Hormuz.

Iran said on Wednesday it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the United States continued to blockade Iranian ports.

While strikes around the region have mostly stopped since the start of a ceasefire, the US and Iran have continued to exert pressure around the trade route.

Before the war started on February 28, about a fifth of the world's oil was shipped through the Strait.

World

Katz: Israel Awaiting US Green Light to 'Return Iran to Stone Age'

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
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Katz: Israel Awaiting US Green Light to 'Return Iran to Stone Age'

FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa
FILED - 25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel was "prepared to resume the war against Iran", adding that his country was awaiting a green light from the United States to return Iran to "the Stone Age".

"The IDF is ready both defensively and offensively, and the targets have been marked," Katz said in a video statement.

"We are awaiting a green light from the United States -- first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty... and additionally to return Iran to the Dark Age and the Stone Age by destroying key energy and electricity facilities and dismantling its national economic infrastructure," he added.

The opening US-Israel attack of the war on February 28 killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose son later succeeded him but has yet to appear in public, creating speculation over his condition and if he is still alive.

"This time, when the attack resumes, it will be different and lethal, adding devastating blows at the most sensitive points -- following the tremendous strikes the Iranian terror regime has already sustained -- that will shake and bring down its foundations," AFP quoted Katz as saying.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, which came into effect on April 8, to create space for talks with Tehran.

Plans for renewed negotiations in Pakistan hang in the balance.

The Middle East war has engulfed the region, leaving several thousand people dead, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and continuing to destabilize the global economy.

World

Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
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Prince Harry, on Visit to Kyiv, Tells Putin to 'Stop this War'

Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters
Britain's Prince Harry steps off a train as he arrives, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine, April 23, 2026. - Reuters

Britain's Prince Harry made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday and called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to end the war - a week after a massive Russian aerial attack on the country - and on US President Donald Trump to show leadership to help resolve the conflict.

By convention, the British royal family do not speak out on political matters, although King Charles and other senior royals have regularly voiced their support for Ukraine. But Harry, on his third visit to the country since the war began, used far more explicit language than any of his relatives have done previously, Reuters reported.

"President Putin, no nation benefits from the continued loss of life we are witnessing. There is still a moment—now—to stop this war, to prevent further suffering for Ukrainians and Russians alike, and to choose a different course," Harry said in a speech to a Kyiv security forum.

He called on Washington to do more to bring about an end to the war.

"This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations," he said.

"Europe has stood up in profound ways," added Harry, a British Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. "The task now is to match endurance with speed, solidarity with scale, and commitment with consistency."

In his speech, which drew huge applause, he praised the Ukrainian people's resolve and the innovative response of its military, including its advanced drone capabilities.

On his two-day visit Harry is also expected to visit the de-mining HALO Trust charity, supported by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, and spend time with Ukrainian participants of the Invictus Games Foundation he founded, which helps wounded veterans recover through sport, according to Britain's ITV.

"I am here as a soldier who understands service, as a humanitarian who has seen the human cost of conflict, and as a friend of Ukraine who believes the world must not grow used to this war or numb to its consequences," Harry said.