LONDON — A judge ruled on Friday, July 3, 2026, that former Syrian air force colonel Salem al-Salem is unfit to stand trial. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf in the Central Criminal Court.

Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb stated that al-Salem will face a trial of facts next year on murder and torture allegations. Prosecutors accepted medical findings that al-Salem's neurological condition was too advanced for him to enter a plea or face trial. He appeared by video link with an oxygen mask over his face during the proceeding.

Prosecutor Tom Little said al-Salem has cognitive impairment and limited ability to communicate due to the disease, which has left him paralyzed in all four limbs. "The motor neuron disease is now advanced. In addition, there is associated depression, apathy and cognitive impairment as well as severely restricted speech," Little stated. He also noted, "The defendant is monosyllabic and only really understandable to close family."

Al-Salem, 58, is the first person in the U.K. charged with murder as a crime against humanity under the International Criminal Court Act of 2001. U.K. law allows British prosecutors to bring charges for some international offenses, including crimes against humanity and torture, regardless of where they were committed.

Al-Salem is charged with three counts of murder as crimes against humanity for attacks on civilians in 2011. These charges relate to the deaths of Omar Al-Homsi, Nizar Fayoumi-AlKhatib, and Talhat Dalal in April and July 2011. He also faces a count of conduct ancillary to murder in the death of Mohammed Salim Zahrak Balik and is charged with torturing three other people as part of his official duties.

Prosecutors said al-Salem was part of a Syrian Air Force Intelligence group that responded to demonstrations in the Damascus suburb of Jobar in 2011. Prosecutor Emilie Pottle stated, "Al-Salem was tasked with quelling civilian protests against the regime and the defendant ordered officers under his command to shoot protesters and he himself shot protesters." Pottle added, "The murders were part of a widespread and systemic attack against the civilian population." Prosecutors also alleged that al-Salem was present and participated in interrogations where detainees were beaten, shocked, and hung by handcuffs from a ceiling.

Al-Salem will not be required to appear in court for the trial of facts. This type of trial determines whether the accused committed the acts but cannot result in a conviction due to his condition.