On Monday, August 5, a court in Germany upheld the life sentence against former Syrian regime officer Anwar Raslan.
The Federal Supreme Court in the city of Koblenz, southwestern Germany, stated that it rejected an appeal filed by Raslan’s lawyers against his conviction for overseeing the mistreatment of detainees in Syrian regime prisons, according to the American Associated Press agency.
The Federal Supreme Court clarified that it did not find a “legal error harmful to the defendant” and rejected the “procedural objections” submitted by his lawyers, thereby issuing a final life imprisonment ruling against Raslan.
Earlier in August, the Federal Supreme Court in Germany confirmed the life sentence issued by the Koblenz court on January 13, 2022, against Raslan for committing crimes against humanity.
The Koblenz court sentenced Anwar Raslan to life imprisonment in what was a global precedent in holding the Syrian regime accountable for torture, war crimes, and human rights violations in Syria.
The judges concluded that the former colonel was responsible for interrogations at the al-Khatib branch, also known as “Branch 251” of the General Intelligence Directorate in Damascus.
German prosecutors asserted that Raslan oversaw the “systematic and brutal torture” of more than four thousand detainees between April 2011 and September 2012, which led to the deaths of at least 58 people. The court proved evidence holding him responsible for at least 27 deaths.
Raslan’s trial began on April 23, 2020, alongside Eyad al-Gharib, who was an official in the regime’s security apparatus and was accused of detaining demonstrators with 30 charges related to aiding in torture and murder.
Since the beginning of Raslan’s trial, more than 80 witnesses have testified in court, including 12 defectors and several men and women from different European countries, providing testimonies about the atrocities they faced at the al-Khatib branch under Raslan’s command.
Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib were arrested in Germany in 2019 after years of seeking asylum in the country. Their trials began under German laws recognizing the principle of universal jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide occurring outside its territories.