In Germany, a former colonel of Syrian intelligence has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity. Anwar R. was chief of interrogations at Al-Khattib prison near Damascus. Between April 2011 and September 2012, according to German justice, 4,000 people were tortured under his leadership, 58 of whom died, mostly members of the opposition to President Assad.
R. is the highest-ranking Syrian convicted in Europe for his role in the Syrian civil war. Last year in Germany a subordinate of R. 4,5 years in prison.
R.’s lawyer had asked for an acquittal. R. would never have tortured himself and, moreover, defected to the opposition in 2012. He also claimed to have helped prisoners, which made others suspicious. In 2014, he traveled to Germany after being granted a humanitarian visa.
A year later, he called the police for fear of being followed by Assad’s secret agents. His past as a colonel in Assad’s regime also surfaced. In 2019, Germany arrested R., a year later the trial against him started in Koblenz.
Universal Jurisdiction
Although the crimes were not committed by a German and not in Germany, R. could still be prosecuted there. Germany can prosecute on the basis of so-called universal jurisdiction. Then there must be very serious crimes, such as war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Also watch this report from Nieuwsuur about the torture practices in the Al-Khattib prison:
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