German authorities have formally charged a former Syrian security official with crimes against humanity, accusing him of participating in the torture of numerous prisoners at a detention facility in Damascus while Bashar al-Assad was president.
Prosecutor's Allegations
The Federal Public Prosecutor General's office in Germany announced the indictment on Monday, stating that the individual, identified only as Fahad A, was involved in over 100 interrogation sessions between 2011 and 2012 where detainees suffered "severe physical abuse."
According to the prosecutor's statement, methods of torture included electric shocks, beatings with cables, forced stress positions, and suspension from ceilings. "As a result of such mistreatment and the catastrophic prison conditions, at least 70 prisoners died," the statement noted, adding that the former guard also faces murder charges.
The official was arrested on May 27 and formally indicted on December 10. He remains in pre-trial detention.
Broader Context
Syrians have long sought accountability for atrocities committed during al-Assad's decades-long rule, which ended in December 2024 following a swift rebel offensive. The regime, accused of widespread human rights violations including torture and enforced disappearances, collapsed after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Universal Jurisdiction in Action
Germany has utilized universal jurisdiction laws to prosecute suspects in crimes against humanity regardless of where they occurred. Under these provisions, several individuals suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in Germany in recent years. The country hosts approximately one million Syrians.
In a related case in June, a Frankfurt court sentenced Syrian doctor Alaa Mousa to life imprisonment for committing acts of torture as part of al-Assad's suppression of dissent. Mousa was accused of torturing patients at military hospitals in Damascus and Homs, where political prisoners were often taken under the guise of medical treatment.
Witnesses testified that Mousa poured flammable liquid on a prisoner's wounds and set them on fire, then kicked the man in the face, breaking his teeth. In another instance, he allegedly injected a detainee with a lethal substance for refusing to be beaten. One former detainee described the Damascus hospital as a "slaughterhouse."
Presiding judge Christoph Koller remarked that the verdict highlighted the "brutality of Assad's dictatorial, unjust regime."
