Germany updates: Court to rule over Syrian 'torture' doctor

A Frankfurt court is expected to hand down a ruling in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity. In sport, Bayern Munich began their Club World Cup campaign with a thumping win. DW has more. A German court ruling is expected in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity Bayern Munich smash Auckland City in Club World Cup Uncertainty over nationwide Deutschlandticket train pass funding Welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Monday, June 16. Refresh page for updates. German court sentences Syrian doctor to life in prison for crimes against humanity A court in Frankfurt has sentenced a Syrian doctor to life in prison after finding him guilty of torture, murder and other crimes against humanity committed under the dictatorial regime of former Syrian President Bashar Assad. Presiding judge Christoph Koller said defendant Alaa M. had "severely injured nine people and killed two more" while serving in a military hospital in the Syrian city of Homs between 2011 and 2012. More to follow ... Club World Cup: Bayern Munich hit Auckland City for ten amid FIFA criticism Bayern Munich got their Club World Cup campaign underway with a thumping 10-0 win over Auckland City in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday. The game between the German champions and the semi-professional outfit from New Zealand quickly proved to be a mismatch as Bayern flew into a 6-0 half-time lead, before adding four more after the break. "It's difficult to accept too much praise for such a game," admitted head coach Vincent Kompany after Jamal Musiala scored a hat-trick and Thomas Müller, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman all scored twice. "The most important thing for me was that the players took it seriously," continued Kompany. "There will be tougher challenges to come." Bayern next face Argentinian giants Boca Juniors in Miami on Friday before playing Portuguese side Benfica. During the game, some of the traveling Bayern supporters expressed criticism of world football's governing body and tournament organizers FIFA. "Ten years [on from] Baur au Lac, world football is more poorly governed than [ever] before!" read a banner unfurled behind the goal, referring to the luxury Swiss hotel in which several high-ranking FIFA executives were arrested on corruption charges in May 2015. The political circumstances surrounding FIFA's newly expanded Club World Cup, including its Qatari sponsorship, Saudi-funded broadcasting arrangements and FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proximity to US President Donald Trump, have kept the organization firmly in the sights of critics. Back on the pitch, Borussia Dortmund begin their campaign on Tuesday when they face Brazilian giants Fluminense. Deutschlandticket: Germany's nationwide travel ticket faces financing questions Germany's all-inclusive, nationwide public transport pass, known as the Deutschlandticket, has proven a popular product since its permanent introduction in May 2023. But its financing continues to be a subject of political contention. Around 13 million people subscribe to the Deutschlandticket, which allows for unlimited travel on all regional trains and buses across Germany – with the exception of high-speed inter-city trains (ICE, IC, EC). It currently costs €58 ($67) a month, up from €49 in 2024. The ticket is jointly financed by the federal German government in Berlin and the 16 state governments to the tune of €3 billion ($3.5bn) per year, money which compensates regional public transport enterprises whose own travel tickets had previously been significantly more expensive. The current financing is guaranteed by law for 2025 and the new coalition government has committed to the Deutschlandticket beyond that, but its future financing remains unclear. Some state governments want to reduce their contributions, but the transport companies argue that the current subsidies aren't enough. "Given the current strain on the public purse, the states can't afford to contribute more than €1.5 billion per year," said a spokesperson for the Bavarian Transport Ministry, calling on Berlin to increase its share. "It's important that we agree on a clear financing plan to provide planning security," said Oliver Krischer (Green Party), the regional transport minister of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. "The constant discussions about the future of the Deutschlandticket and its cost are counterproductive and don't help us move forward," added his counterpart from the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Hermann (also of the Green Party). Frankfurt court to rule in case of Syrian 'torture' doctor A court ruling is expected in Frankfurt on Monday in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of crimes against humanity. German state prosecutors have accused Alaa M. of deliberately torturing and murdering prisoners at a military hospitals in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs under the dictatorial regime of former President Bashar Assad. The crimes, which were allegedly committed on 18 occasions between 2011 and 2012, are said to have included dousing a teenage boy's genitals with alcohol before setting fire to them. One former inmate and witness at the trial, which began in 2022, said he had been forced to carry the bodies of patients who had died after being injected by M., according to Der Spiegel news magazine. Another described the Damascus site where he had been detained as a "slaughterhouse." M. arrived in Germany in 2015 on a visa for highly skilled workers and continued to practice medicine in Germany, working as an orthopedic doctor until he was arrested in June 2020. He denies all charges against him, saying he was too afraid of the military police "in control" at the hospital to speak out. "I felt sorry for them, but I couldn't say anything, or it would have been me instead of the patient," he told the court. Prosecutors have called for a life-long prison sentence, while the defense has demanded acquittal. Germany has tried several supporters of Assad's regime under the legal principle of "universal jurisdiction," which allows for the prosecution of serious crimes even if they were committed abroad. The first such global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria under the Assad regime opened in the western German city of Koblenz in 2020 and resulted in a former colonel in the Syrian army being sentenced to life in jail in 2022. Welcome to our coverage Guten Tag! Welcome to DW's coverage of developments in Germany on Monday, June 16. A court ruling is expected in Frankfurt today in the case of a Syrian doctor accused of torture and murder under the former Assad regime. Elsewhere, there is uncertainty over the future financing of Germany's nationwide Deutschlandticket train pass. And in sport, Bayern Munich got their Club World Cup campaign underway on Sunday with a thumping win.