Syria Repatriates Young Man Sentenced to Death in Iraq Over a Photo of al-Sharai

SadaNews - Syrian youth Mohammad Anqa has returned to his country from Iraq after a death sentence issued against him was overturned last October.

Anqa, 22 years old, was welcomed by his family members. The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the young man arrived at Damascus International Airport coming from Iraq, after being acquitted of the charges against him, "thanks to the efforts of the Syrian government and its continuous follow-up of the case in coordination with the Iraqi government."

Relatives of the Syrian young man told the Syria Now platform earlier that the Najaf court had issued a death sentence by hanging against their son on October 27 last year following his arrest at the beginning of last year for posting a video of President Ahmad al-Sharai on his Facebook page.

The family added that authorities found a video on Mohammad's phone showing members of the "Free Syrian Army" capturing a member of the Iraqi al-Nujaba Movement.

According to human rights sources and testimonies from his relatives, the young Syrian was subjected to severe torture and electric shock during interrogation, and was forced to sign confessions that he did not know the content of and without the presence of a lawyer. His case was then referred to court on "terrorism" charges based on the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005, leading to his death sentence.

Source: Al Jazeera