What is known today about the mercenaries handed over to Syria. Newsam

Today, Mohrab Muhammad al-Shekher and Youssef Alabed al-Haji were handed over to the Syrian Arab Republic. They were captured by the Armenian side during the 44-day war in 2020, and were later sentenced to life imprisonment by the first-instance court of Syunik for mercenary activities and other war crimes. This was reported by Newsam.

According to information available in 'Datalex', Muhammad al-Jasim, also known as Abu Hamsha, the leader of the terrorist group 'Sultan Suleiman Shah', had been previously recruited by Turkish special services and received an explicit illegal order from them to recruit individuals residing in the Syrian Arab Republic to participate as mercenaries in the war being prepared by Azerbaijan against Artsakh. He began to recruit individuals in financially challenging situations through various contacts.

In June 2020, Mohrab Muhammad al-Shekher was approached by a representative of al-Jasim known as 'Abu Hussein 23', who offered him the opportunity to go to Azerbaijan after undergoing relevant training for a monthly payment of $2,000 to participate in planned military operations against Armenia and Artsakh. Following the acceptance of the offer, from June to September 2020, Mohrab Muhammad al-Shekher was taken to Sheikh Hadid village in Syria, where he joined around 500 mercenaries in physical, combat, and military training courses lasting three months.

On October 17, 2020, along with 17 other mercenaries, al-Shekher was transferred to the Al-Qus checkpoint in a 'Kia' branded truck, where a total of about 250 mercenaries had gathered before being transported by vehicles to the vicinity of Kilis city. In that location, the command staff of the 'Sukour', 'Hamzat', and other groups operated under al-Jasim's command. The 250 mercenaries were then divided into five groups. That day, around 11 PM, the mercenaries crossed the border between Syria and Turkey unimpeded, with no passport checks required by the officials guarding the Turkish border.

Likewise, these 250 mercenaries were transported on civil aircraft bearing the Turkish flag from one Turkish civil airport to another, where they were greeted by around 50 Turkish military personnel. Accompanied by these forces, al-Shekher was taken on the morning of October 18, 2020, in a plane bearing the Azerbaijani flag to a civilian airport in Azerbaijan, where they were met by more than 30 military personnel in Azerbaijani armed forces uniforms, who, without asking any questions or requiring or checking passports, embarked them into vehicles and transported them to one of Azerbaijan's military facilities, where they stayed for seven days. During this period, discussions about the planned military operations were regularly conducted by al-Jasim, Turkish, and Azerbaijani military personnel, during which aggressive calls for war were made, urging participants to spare no lives, to decapitate and kill all Armenians.

Furthermore, the mercenaries received uniforms and weapons marked with the emblem of the Azerbaijani armed forces. The leader of the group, Abu Hamsha, was also allocated a white 'Toyota' pickup truck.

On October 25, 2020, Mohrab Muhammad al-Shekher and the other mercenaries, under the leadership of al-Jasim, were stationed at a separate military facility already occupied by around 180 members of the same group. On October 29, 2020, around 4 AM, Abu Hamsha ordered the 250 members of the group to prepare for military operations aimed at attacking a Armenian village, seizing it, and killing the local civilian population and soldiers, as well as creating instability in the situation in Artsakh and Armenia through acts of arson and explosions. Participating in military operations with 150 mercenaries, al-Shekher did not manage to complete his deliberate actions under circumstances beyond his control, as he encountered resistance from Armenian armed forces near the villages of Syunik Province on October 31, 2020, around 2 PM, was neutralized, and surrendered to Armenian law enforcement agencies.

According to the criminal case, the other defendant, Youssef Alabed al-Haji, was approached with a proposal to participate in military operations by a resident of Syria's Idlib Province, Ibrahim Rab Al Ayala, known as Abu Ahmad. He too participated in physical, combat, and military training courses from June to September 2020 along with around 500 mercenaries, and was then transferred to the Bab Al-Salam border checkpoint in Syria, and subsequently found himself on Azerbaijani territory and then in Artsakh. He also recounted that they were ordered to spare no lives, to decapitate and kill all Armenians, and moreover, mercenaries were promised a reward of $100 for each head of an Armenian presented for decapitation. For the purpose of decapitating Armenians and receiving rewards for it, Youssef Alabed al-Haji was provided with long-bladed knives designed for beheading. He also encountered resistance from the Armed Forces of Armenia near the village of David Bek in Syunik Province on November 2, 2020, around 6 PM, was neutralized, and surrendered to Armenian law enforcement agencies.

According to verbal statements by Mohrab Muhammad al-Shekher, available in 'Datalex', he was previously convicted for manslaughter.