In historic trial, Germany convicts former Syrian intelligence agent of crimes against humanity
- Germany's foreign minister Heiko Maas welcomed the "historic verdict"
- This is the first case globally over state-sponsored torture by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government
- Gharib, a former low-ranking member, hid his face from the cameras with a folder
A German court on Wednesday convicted a former Syrican intelligence service agent for complicity in crimes againt humanity. This is the first case globally over state-sponsored torture by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Eyad al-Gharib, 44, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison over his role in helping to arrest at least 30 protesters in Duma in autumn 2011 and deliver them to the Al-Khatib detention centre in Damascus where they were tortured, news agency AFP reported.
Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas welcomed the “historic verdict”, which he said had a “high symbolic significance for many people, not only in Syria”.
“It is the first verdict that holds those responsible for #torture in #Syria accountable and it at least creates a little justice,” Maas said in a tweet.
The conviction was also hailed as a “ray of hope” by Syrian Wassim Mukdad, a plaintiff who suffered torture in the Al-Khatib centre, also named “Branch 251”.
“This is just the beginning and the day will come when Bashar al-Assad and his cronies, the army and intelligence generals are put on trial,” said Mukdad, who testified at the trial.
Gharib, a former low-ranking member of the intelligence service, hid his face from the cameras with a folder as the verdict was read out, arms folded and wearing a medical mask.
He is the first of two defendants on trial since April 23 to be convicted by the court in Koblenz, after judges decided to split the proceedings in two.
The second defendant, Anwar Raslan, 58, is a former colonel and accused directly of crimes against humanity, including overseeing the murder of 58 people and the torture of 4,000 others.
Raslan’s trial is expected to last until at least the end of October.
Both men are being tried on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, including war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.
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