Syrian torture verdict expected in landmark German case

Syrian torture verdict expected in landmark German case

image copyrightAFP

image captionThe trial of alleged Syrian intelligence officer Eyad al-Gharib began in April 2020

A German court is expected to decide on Wednesday if a Syrian man who fled his country's civil war was an accomplice to crimes against humanity.

Eyad al-Gharib, 44, allegedly assisted the torture of Syrians as a government intelligence officer.

Another Syrian - Anwar Raslan, 58 - remains on trial. Both got asylum in Germany but were arrested in 2019.

It is the first such trial over alleged atrocities committed by President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Prosecutors in Koblenz, western Germany, are seeking five-and-a-half years in jail for Eyad al-Gharib.

Defence lawyers argued that the pair were ordered to commit the alleged crimes and feared punishment if they did not obey.

The agency the men allegedly worked for played a crucial role in suppressing the peaceful pro-democracy protests that erupted against President Assad's regime in 2011.

image copyrightAFP

image captionAnti-Assad campaigners showed photos of victims outside the court

Germany is trying the pair under the principle of "universal jurisdiction", which allows any country to prosecute those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

For some Syrians the trial, which began in April 2020, is a rare chance for justice for a community that has