An Austrian court sentenced a Syrian asylum seeker for life for murdering 20 wounded soldiers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army while fighting alongside an anti-Assad militia near the city of Homs, a court spokesman said.
An interpreter had told the court that the 27-year-old man recounted the episode to him in Arabic, but the accused argued his statement had been mistranslated.
According to the spokesman, the jury decided against the man on Wednesday.
Austria has jailed several people for belonging to a terrorist organisation, a charge usually leveled against foreign or local fighters fighting in Syria alongside Islamic State militants.
Report says it is the first case in Austria to involve the killing of troops loyal to Assad.
The man was fighting alongside a non-Islamist militia and was not found to belong to a terrorist organisation.
However, his lawyer said he would appeal against the ruling. (Reuters/NAN)
ACO/MZA
