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    In a landmark case, a German court convicts an ex-Syrian officer of torture

    The world's first criminal trial on torture in Syria's prisons ended Thursday in Koblenz, Germany — the first time a high-ranking ex-Syrian official faced Syrians in open court in a war crimes case.
    by Deborah Amos Jan 13, 2022 3 minutes
    Defendant Anwar Raslan (right) and others involved in his trial stand in the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, Germany, at the start of a trial session last month. Raslan was put on trial in April 2020 in a landmark case in Germany.

    KOBLENZ, Germany — The world's first criminal trial over torture in Syria's prisons ended Thursday with a guilty verdict and life sentence for a former Syrian intelligence officer.

    The ruling came in a German case against Anwar Raslan, who was accused of more than 30 counts of murder, 4,000 counts of torture and charges of sexual assault from when he oversaw a notorious prison in Damascus in 2011 and 2012.

    The landmark trial marked the first time a high-ranking former Syrian official has faced Syrians in open court in a war crimes case.

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