The first trial of suspected members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's security services for crimes against humanity, including torture and sexual assault, starts in Germany on Thursday.
BERLIN - The first trial of suspected members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s security services for crimes against humanity, including torture and sexual assault, starts in Germany on Thursday.
“Arbitrary arrests and torture are the main weapon used by the Assad regime to spread fear among Syrians and suppress their demands for democracy and justice,” said human rights lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who says he was held at a jail near Damascus by the main suspect to be tried in the German city of Koblenz.
“We do not wish to make any public statement about our defence strategy,” said Michael Boecker, a lawyer for the main suspect, identified only as Anwar R under German privacy laws.German prosecutors have used universal jurisdiction laws that allow them to prosecute crimes against humanity committed anywhere in the world to bring the trial.
The second suspect, Eyad A., 43, is charged with facilitating the torture of at least 30 opposition activists arrested after an anti-Assad demonstration in 2011. He arrived in Germany in April 2018.
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