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BERLIN (AP) — A Syrian man charged with war crimes for allegedly participating in the 2013 kidnapping of a United Nations observer has gone on trial in Germany.
The 25-year-old, who came to Germany as a refugee in 2014, is accused of helping guard the observer for the Nusra Front, al-Qaida's branch in Syria. The suspect has been identified only as Suliman Al-S. in line with German privacy rules.
Prosecutors haven't identified the observer but the facts released correspond with those of the kidnapping of Canadian lawyer Carl Campeau, who was abducted from a Damascus suburb. He escaped after eight months.
The Syrian's charges include war crimes, aggravated deprivation of liberty and membership in a foreign terrorist organization. The trial opened Thursday at the Stuttgart state court and will last into next year.
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