"The district court has considered the acts to be serious because they targeted a large number of civilians and several people died and were injured," says Councilor Hampus Lilja, in a press release from Solna District Court.
The man was convicted of two counts of grave crimes against humanity in Yarmuk, south of the capital Damascus, which took place while the civil war was raging.
One case concerns an attack on a peaceful demonstration on July 13, 2012, carried out by forces loyal to Syria's then-dictator Bashar al-Assad. Around ten civilians were shot dead and several others were injured. According to Solna District Court, the 55-year-old participated in the shooting.
The second incident concerns the manning of a roadblock at Yarmuk from December 2012 to July 2013. A large number of civilians were arrested at the roadblock and handed over to the Syrian security services.
"The District Court considers it proven that the regime at the roadblock arrested and abducted a very large number of civilians. Those arrested were then tortured, subjected to other severe suffering and, in some cases, deprived of their lives," the court writes in the press release.
The 55-year-old participated in identifying, checking and arresting civilians at the roadblock.
The investigation into the man was initiated after a tip from the Swedish Migration Board. At that time, he was already a Swedish citizen.
