Dutch court gives Syrian ex-interrogator 26 years in torture case

A court in The Hague sentenced a Syrian man to 26 years in prison after finding him guilty of crimes against humanity tied to his work for the government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Reuters and The Associated Press reported. The case matters because it marks the first Dutch trial in which sexual violence was prosecuted as a crime against humanity, according to the reports.

The defendant, identified by the court as Rafik A, was convicted on Monday over abuses committed while he worked as an interrogator, Reuters and AP reported. Dutch authorities withheld his last name.

The court found that Rafik A tortured and raped prisoners in detention facilities in 2013 and 2014, according to Reuters and AP. The judges heard that detainees were abused through methods that included being hung upside down and given electric shocks.

Presiding Judge Wim van Hattum said in a summary of the ruling that the case involved eight victims and that Rafik A either carried out torture, rape or other sexual abuse himself or directed others to do so, Reuters and AP reported.

Charges and defence

Rafik A was arrested in the Netherlands in 2023 after living in the country for two years as an asylum seeker, according to Reuters and AP. The reports said the court dismissed several other charges because there was not enough evidence.

During the trial, Rafik A denied the accusations and described them as a conspiracy, Reuters and AP reported. His lawyers told the court that he had been tortured by militias and was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the reports.

The sentence adds to a set of European cases against Syrian nationals over abuses committed during al-Assad’s rule, Reuters and AP reported. Al-Assad was removed from power in a rebel offensive in December 2024, according to the reports.

Those prosecutions have focused attention on human rights violations during al-Assad’s time in power and during Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 and lasted almost 14 years, Reuters and AP reported.

European prosecutions

European courts have pursued some Syria-related cases under universal jurisdiction, a legal doctrine that allows prosecutions for serious international crimes even when the alleged acts took place in another country, Reuters and AP reported.

In Germany, a court sentenced Syrian doctor Alaa Mousa to life in prison in June last year after finding him guilty of crimes against humanity, according to Reuters and AP. The court found that Mousa murdered and tortured opponents of al-Assad between 2011 and 2012 after a trial that ran for more than three years.

In France, a court sentenced Majdi Nema to 10 years in prison in May last year for involvement in war crimes during Syria’s civil war, Reuters and AP reported. Nema, a former spokesman for a rebel group fighting al-Assad, was convicted of recruiting minors aged 15 to 18 and helping plan war crimes, according to the reports.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.