On January 13, in the first European trial against a high-ranking Syrian regime official, a former senior intelligence officer was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for crimes against humanity. Former head of interrogation at a detention centre in Damascus, Anwar Raslan was found guilty on 4,000 counts of torture and the murder of 27 detainees, less than a year after one of his subordinates was convicted by the same German court. It’s been a long road to justice for victims and their lawyers tracking down former torturers who have settled in Europe since 2013.
Russia and China have long vetoed referring Syria to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, so German prosecutors decided to pursue such cases under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Through painstaking hard work, those who hunt for Syrian war criminals have been able to start locating and exposing them. FRANCE 24's Fernande van Tets and Marine Pradel report.
Warning: This report contains graphic footage.
>> Germany sentences Syrian ex-officer to life in prison for crimes against humanity
