German Court Finds Former Syrian Colonel Guilty of Crimes Against Humanity

A German court sentenced a former Syrian colonel to life in jail for crimes against humanity. It is the first global trial over state-sponsored torture in Syria under the rule of President Bashar Assad. Anwar Raslan, a senior official in the Syrian army that supports the regime, was convicted in a regional court in Koblenz, Germany for complicity in at least 4,000 cases of torture, dozens of murders and three cases of sexual assault and rape. Raslan, 58, oversaw a security office and detention center in Damascus during the early days of Syria’s ongoing civil war that began 11 years ago. In announcing its guilty verdict and sentence, the court said that Raslan will not be eligible for an early release from prison. Raslan defected from Syria in 2012, later entering Germany on a visa; he was arrested in 2019. He was tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows the prosecution of possible war crimes committed by foreigners in other states.