A suspected ex-member of the terrorist organization Islamic State went on trial on Monday at the Higher Regional Court in the western German city of Koblenz.
The 44-year-old Syrian joined IS in Syria in 2015 and also took part in the execution of prisoners, a representative of the federal prosecutor's office said as she read out the indictment. The federal prosecutors accuse the man of membership of a terrorist organization abroad, war crimes and murder.
The accused had allegedly been a member of the terrorist group for around a month in May 2015, when it captured his then place of residence in Syria. According to the allegations, the man took part in two executions during this period, in each of which two fighters from the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) were killed.
The group tied one of the prisoners to a pick-up truck with a rope and dragged him through the city until he was dead. The court heard that the accused allegedly shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest) while travelling in the moving car. The alleged driver is being investigated separately.
During another execution, the accused had is said to have stopped a fellow IS gunman from shooting again at a victim who was still alive after being shot in the head, as he did not want him to be given any mercy.
Defence lawyer Dubravko Mandic told the court that his client had never been a member or supporter of IS, and was neither an Islamist nor a believer. The indictment, he said, does not prove any motive for the accusations, and pointed out that two of the defendant's brothers had themselves fallen fighting for the opposition FSA.
The defence team also questioned the value of witness statements gathered by UN investigators.
The accused man has been in custody since he was arrested in Mainz, Germany in March 2023.