Ex- Syrian soldier faces murder trial

A former member of the Syrian military was charged in Britain with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity for attacks on civilians in Damascus in 2011, British prosecutors said Monday. The Crown Prosecution Service said it marks the first time they have brought those charges in the UK under the International Criminal Court Act of 2001. The 58-year-old, who was a member of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence department also faces three counts of torture and one count of conduct ancillary to murder. He is due to appear Tuesday in Westminster Magistrates' Court. "The charges are extremely serious and show that we fully support the U.K.'s no safe haven' policy in relation (to) alleged war criminals," Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Commander Helen Flanagan said.