A German court has been charged with torturing about 4,000 civilians and crimes against humanity in Syria, where the civil war continues, for life. I handed down a sentence of imprisonment.
In Syria, the dictatorial Assad regime has cracked down on dissident citizens, and a UN investigative commission said last year's report that at least tens of thousands were killed in custody in the last decade. I'm pointing out.
A court in Koblenz, western Germany, was 58 years old, a former executive of the Assad administration's intelligence agency, charged with crimes against humanity for being involved in torture of about 4,000 citizens and the killing of dozens of people in Syria on the 13th. He sentenced the man to life imprisonment.
Defendant was arrested in 2019 in Germany, where he moved after leaving Syria.
The defense pleaded not guilty, saying, "The defendant has not tortured or ordered. After leaving Syria, he was supporting dissident citizens."
In Germany, another man who belonged to an intelligence agency was sentenced to four years and six months in prison last February for helping torture civilians in Syria.
Prosecutors say the series of trials is the first in the world to try systematic torture by the Assad administration, and victims and human rights groups who have fled Syria are calling for further clarification.