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Germany convicts ex-Syrian colonel in ‘historic’ torture trial

AFP
Friday, Jan 14, 2022

Koblenz, Germany: A German court on Thursday sentenced a former Syrian colonel to life in jail for crimes against humanity in a "historic" verdict marking the end of the first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria.

Anwar Raslan, 58, was found guilty of overseeing the murder of 27 people at the Al-Khatib detention centre in Damascus, also known as "Branch 251", in 2011 and 2012. He sought refuge in Germany after deserting the Syrian regime in 2012. Prosecutors had accused him of overseeing the murder of 58 people and the torture of 4,000 others at the centre, but not all of the deaths could be proven.