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A territory tribunal successful the Netherlands has sentenced a Syrian nationalist to 26 years successful situation for crimes against humanity, including the torture and rape of detainees held by forces loyal to erstwhile country's president Bashar al-Assad during the country's civilian war.The man, identified lone arsenic Rafiq al Q nether Dutch privateness regulations, was convicted by the District Court of The Hague for abuses committed betwixt 2013 and 2014 portion serving arsenic an interrogator for the pro-Assad National Defense Forces (NDF) successful the Syrian metropolis of Salamiyah.According to the court, grounds showed that the 58-year-old was progressive successful the torture of prisoners held astatine detention centres, including beatings, electrical shocks and suspending detainees upside down.
Judges besides recovered him blameworthy of intersexual unit against aggregate victims.Delivering the verdict, the tribunal said the accused had subjected detainees to terrible carnal and intelligence suffering."The suspect was besides blameworthy of sexually abusing aggregate victims. He raped 1 of them," the tribunal said successful a summary of its ruling, Reuters reported. "The suspect repeatedly subjected the victims to conditions of utmost fear, threats, pain, hopelessness, and powerlessness.
During the tribunal hearings, the victims gave compelling testimonies astir the interaction this had connected them and the consequences they proceed to endure to this day," it added.Presiding justice Wim van Hattum said the tribunal had established that Rafiq al Q. either committed the crimes himself oregon directed others to transportation them out."The fishy was engaged successful torture, rape oregon different intersexual maltreatment of 8 victims successful this case, either by committing the acts himself oregon by ordering others to bash so," van Hattum said portion speechmaking the ruling summary.Rafiq al Q denied each allegations during the trial, insisting helium had nary engagement successful the abuses and accusing witnesses of lying and conspiring against him. He appeared successful tribunal wearing a striped garment and seated beside his lawyer, but made nary disposable absorption arsenic the condemnation was announced. The tribunal acquitted him connected respective charges for which it recovered insufficient evidence.First Dutch condemnation implicit Assad-era atrocitiesThe verdict marks the archetypal condemnation successful the Netherlands for atrocities committed successful Syria by forces aligned with the Assad government.
It is besides the archetypal clip a Dutch tribunal has convicted an idiosyncratic of intersexual unit arsenic a transgression against humanity.The lawsuit was brought nether the rule of cosmopolitan jurisdiction, which allows nationalist courts to prosecute suspects for superior planetary crimes specified arsenic warfare crimes and crimes against humanity, adjacent erstwhile those offences were committed abroad.Rafiq al Q arrived successful the Netherlands arsenic an asylum seeker successful 2021 and was surviving successful the municipality of Druten earlier being arrested successful 2023.Both prosecutors and the defence person 14 days to entreaty the verdict.The ruling is portion of a broader planetary effort to clasp individuals accountable for crimes committed during Syria's civilian warfare and nether Assad's rule.Since Assad was ousted from powerfulness successful December 2024 and fled to Russia, courts crossed Europe person pursued cases involving erstwhile Syrian officials and authorities supporters accused of torture, killings and different abuses.Last year, a German tribunal sentenced a Syrian doc to beingness imprisonment for torture and warfare crimes committed successful Syria, portion a Paris tribunal successful 2024 sentenced 3 elder Syrian officials successful absentia to beingness presumption for complicity successful warfare crimes.Syria itself has besides begun pursuing cases against erstwhile authorities officials. In April, the archetypal nationalist proceedings of erstwhile Assad-era officials opened successful Damascus, with ex-brigadier wide Atef Najib facing charges linked to alleged crimes against the Syrian people.Human rights groups and erstwhile detainees person agelong documented wide torture, intersexual violence, brutality and wide executions wrong detention centres tally by the Assad authorities during the civilian war.
