German court rejects a former Syrian secret police officer's appeal against his conviction
A German federal court says it has rejected a former Syrian secret police officer’s appeal against his conviction for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail in his homeland
BERLIN (AP) — A German federal court said Monday it has rejected a former Syrian secret police officer's appeal against his conviction for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail in his homeland.
Anwar Raslan was convicted of crimes against humanity by a court in the western German city of Koblenz in January 2022, a decision that was described as “historic” by the U.N. human rights chief at the time. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Judges concluded that the former colonel was in charge of interrogations at a facility in Douma, just outside Damascus, known as Al-Khatib, or Branch 251, where suspected opposition protesters were detained.
German prosecutors alleged that Raslan supervised the “systematic and brutal torture” of more than 4,000 prisoners between April 2011 and September 2012, resulting in the deaths of at least 58 people. Judges ruled that there was evidence to hold him responsible for 27 deaths.
