German court rejects appeal by former Syrian officer against conviction

A German court on Monday rejected an appeal by a former Damascus government officer against his conviction for overseeing the abuse of detainees in a Syrian prison, according to the American Associated Press.

Anwar Raslan was convicted of crimes against humanity by a court in the city of Koblenz in January 2022 and sentenced to life in prison, a sentence that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described at the time as “historic.”

The judges concluded that the former colonel was in charge of interrogations at a facility in Douma, outside Damascus, known as Branch 251, where suspected opposition protesters were detained.

German prosecutors alleged that Raslan oversaw 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, and judges said there was evidence linking him to 27 deaths.

The Federal Court of Justice said it found “no legal error on the part of the accused” and rejected “procedural objections.”

Raslan’s conviction followed a 2021 ruling against officer Eyad al-Gharib, who was convicted of complicity in crimes against humanity and sentenced to four and a half years in prison by a Koblenz court.

The two men were arrested in Germany in 2019, years after seeking asylum in the country. The court rejected Eyad’s appeal in 2022. (M. Sh.)

T/ Satt.

ANHA