Alaa Mousa

Alaa Mousa, commonly referred to as Alaa M. in German legal documents due to privacy laws, is a Syrian doctor who was convicted by the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court for crimes against humanity.

Alaa Mousa was born in 1984 or 1985 in Syria.^{[1] [2]} He graduated medical studies in Syria and began working as a civilian doctor.^[3] As with all Syrian medical graduates, he was obligated to complete an internship at either civilian or military hospitals in order to receive his specialization certificate.^[4] He worked in military hospitals in Homs and Damascus, including Hospital 608 in Homs and Hospital 601 in Damascus, where he worked from 2011 to 2012.^{[3] [4] [5]}

While working at the military hospitals, starting soon after the early days of the Syrian civil war, Mousa allegedly committed torture and murder along with crimes against humanity. He was accused of having tortured people on at least 18 occasions. These included a teenager whose genitals he set fire to, a detainee to whom he gave a lethal injection after resisting beating, another prisoner whose wounds he set fire to and an epileptic man who he beat and later provided with an (unspecified) pill that lead to his death.^{[3] [4] [5]} He also performed surgery on prisoners without giving them the right amount of anesthesia and attempted to "deprive opposition detainees of their ability to reproduce".^{[2] [4] [5]} He was also involved in systematic abuse, including physical and psychological torture, that often resulting in death of detainees.^{[1] [4] [5]}

In 2015 Mousa relocated to Germany. He entered the country with a visa for highly skilled workers along with thousands of Syrian refugees and medical professionals who ran away from the conflict.^{[2] [3]} He then worked in Germany as an orthopedic doctor. In June 2020 he was arrested by German authorities following an Al-Jazeera documentary released in April and a Der Spiegel article published in May.^{[2] [6] [5]} This documentary and article were the first times Mousa was accused, having been recognized by witnesses and survivors who reported his past crimes.^[4]

His trial began in late January 2022, at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt.^{[2] [3]} This case was conducted under Germany’s universal jurisdiction laws, allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.^{[3] [5]} The trial, which lasted three years, was the first time a trial on state torture in Syria had taken place worldwide.^[5] Mousa admitted to being present while prisoners were tortured but claimed he was powerless to help them. He accused the prosecution witnesses of forming a "conspiracy" against him because he was a Christian.^[7]

On June 16, 2025 Mousa was found guilty of crimes against humanity, torture, war crimes, and two murders. During sentencing, Judge Christoph Koller described him as a sadist who "enjoyed harming people that he considered inferior and of lower value to himself".^[8] Mousa was sentenced to life imprisonment with preventive detention after 15 years.^{[1] [3]}

• Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
• Universal jurisdiction

• People of the Syrian civil war
• Human rights abuses in Syria
• Living people
• 2025 in law
• 2025 in Germany
• June 2025 in Germany
• Syrian emigrants to Germany
• 21st-century Syrian criminals
• People convicted of crimes against humanity
• Foreign nationals imprisoned in Germany
• Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Germany
• Health care professionals convicted of murdering patients
• People convicted of torture
• Syrian war criminals

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Year of birth missing (living people)