Austrian jury convicts asylum seeker of war crimes in Syria

May 11 (UPI) -- A jury in Austria convicted an asylum seeker of 20 counts of murder and sentenced him to life in prison for killing injured soldiers in the Syrian civil war.

The convict, who was not identified, was arrested in a refugee camp in western Austria in June after he boasted to others in the camp he had killed 20 badly injured soldiers fighting for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Killing a defenseless or injured soldier is defined as a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

The man, 27, was born in the Palestinian territory but raised in Homs, Syria. He is believed to have been part of the Islamist rebel group known as the Farouq Brigade, which has ties to the Free Syrian Army.

Prosecutors in Austria said they tried the man there because the Syrian civil war made extradition impossible. He was convicted Wednesday on the charge "murder as a terror offense."

According to local media, the man initially confessed to the charge through a translator, but later recanted, saying the translation was inaccurate. The translator was asked to testify at the trial and said the original statement was accurate and that he asked him to repeat it and he did.