ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A landmark trial for crimes against humanity against a Syrian secret intelligence service agent of Bashar al-Assad's regime has progressed to its main defendant, with a verdict expected to be reached in a German court next week.
Anwar Raslan, 58, is the main defendant on trial in Koblenz, a city in Germany's Rhineland-Palatinate state. The Syrian man stands accused of being a co-perpetrator complicit in the murder of 58 people, and the torture of at least 4,000 others. According to the prosecution team, the crimes took place in the General Intelligence al-Khatib Branch in Damascus, Syria, between 2011 and 2012. Raslan is also accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and rape.
Raslan is the highest-ranking former Syrian regime official to be tried in Europe for crimes against humanity in Syria, put on trial for his crimes in April 2020 along with a subordinate, Eyed al-Gharib, 43, suspected of having been a member of the police bringing prisoners to the branch, and accused of aiding and abetting at least 30 cases of crimes against humanity.
His lower-ranking co-defendant al-Gharib was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison last February for being complicit in these crimes; the first time a member of the Syrian intelligence services had been convicted under international law.
Crucially, Germany's laws permit serious crimes, such as crimes against humanity, to be tried regardless of German association with the crimes. The al-Khatib trial in Koblenz is based on the principle of "universal jurisdiction", which means that significant crimes such as such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity affect the international community as a whole, and not just individuals. As such, the principle gives Germany the green light to prosecute international crimes regardless of when they were committed, who committed them, and the location of the crime.
"The goal must continue to be to bring high-ranking officials of Assad's security apparatus to justice. They are responsible for abusing, torturing and executing tens of thousands of people in Syria - not just over the past several years; even today," Wolfgang Kaleck, the General Secretary of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) said earlier last year, in response to al-Gharib’s sentencing.
State prosecutor Jasper Klinge, told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in December that Germany has a responsibility to institute legal proceedings against crimes against humanity. "We owe this to the victims," Klinge said.
Raslan worked for 18 years in the Syrian intelligence services, where he rose through the ranks to become head of the domestic intelligence "investigation" service. Prosecutors say he oversaw rape and sexual abuse, electric shocks, beating with "fists, wires, and whips", and sleep deprivation at the prison.
Both Raslan and al-Gharib defected from Assad’s government and moved to Germany, where they were arrested. Should Raslan be found guilty, he will face a mandatory life sentence.
"The Syria torture trial in Germany is a message to the Syrian authorities that no one is beyond the reach of justice,” Balkees Jarrah, the Senior Counsel on international justice at Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday. “Countries with universal jurisdiction laws should bolster efforts to investigate and prosecute serious crimes in Syria."
The Syrian civil war, which has been raging for more than a decade, has resulted in the deaths of at least 350,000 people, with many estimating half a million killed, and over 12 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict. The Syrian government forces account for the majority of atrocities inflicted against civilians.
Due to the depreciation of Syria's currency and international sanctions, many Syrians are unable to purchase basic necessities such as food and medicine. Over 80 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group, at least 60,000 people have been killed in Assad's detention camps.
By Julian Bechocha
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