A former Swiss army officer who fought in a Christian militia against the Islamic State in Syria appears in a military court in Bellinzona nowadays. He is accused of undermining Switzerland’s defensive capabilities by joining a foreign army. Born in St Gallen and raised in Ticino,Johan Cosar’s family belongs to the Syriac minority, one of the oldest Christian communities in the East of Syria. He was also a sergeant in the Swiss army. He has admitted to co-founding and participating in the activities of a private militia, and the Syriac Military Council. The militia’s mission is to defend the Christian populations of Syria,which are persecuted by the Islamic State. After two years fighting for the militia, Cosar was arrested in Basel in 2015 upon his return to Switzerland, or accused of illegally fighting for a foreign army. Cosar who is now 37 is facing allegations that he undermined the defensive capabilities of the country by engaging in a foreign army,which is prohibited ...
Source: swissinfo.ch