Syrian regime intelligence officer gets life in prison for war crimes in landmark German trial

BERLIN — A German tribunal convicted a erstwhile Syrian authorities quality serviceman for crimes against humanity connected Thursday, portion of the archetypal proceedings successful the satellite related to state-sponsored torture nether President Bashar al-Assad, according to German media. He was sentenced to beingness successful prison.

Anwar Raslan, 58, was charged with crimes including 58 counts of murder, rape and torture successful transportation to his enactment arsenic caput of investigations astatine a subdivision of Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate during the country’s civilian war.

The proceedings against Raslan began with a accidental brushwood astatine an asylum halfway successful Berlin 7 years ago, erstwhile Anwar al-Bunni, a salient Syrian quality rights lawyer, recognized Raslan arsenic the antheral who had detained him successful Damascus.

The proceedings marked the archetypal clip Syrian victims had the accidental to look an alleged perpetrator of crimes for Assad’s authorities during the country’s civilian war. Victims who spoke successful tribunal arsenic witnesses person described the lawsuit arsenic a milestone, but a tiny measurement connected the mode to justice.

The proceedings took spot nether the rule of cosmopolitan jurisdiction, which is enshrined successful German instrumentality and allows for the overseas trials of those accused of committing sedate acts specified arsenic genocide oregon warfare crimes.