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QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – German federal prosecutors charged on Monday a suspected former member of Syria’s intelligence services with crimes against humanity, including the torture and murder of dozens of detainees held in a Damascus prison under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad. In a statement, prosecutors stated the suspect, identified as Fahad A. under German privacy laws, was arrested in May and is accused of working as a prison guard in the Syrian capital between late April 2011 and mid-April 2012. Additionally, as per investigators, the accused took part in more than 100 interrogations in which prisoners were subjected to severe physical abuse, including electric shocks and beatings with cables.
Prosecutors added that, acting on orders from his superiors, the suspect also abused inmates at night by hanging them from the ceiling, dousing them with cold water, or forcing them to remain in painful positions. Reuters declared that at least 70 prisoners are believed to have died consequently of the torture and the prison’s catastrophic conditions. In fact, the case is being pursued under Germany’s universal jurisdiction laws, which allow courts to prosecute crimes against humanity regardless of where they were committed.
Germany has emerged as a leading venue for prosecuting alleged war crimes linked to the Syrian crisis, having previously secured landmark convictions against former Syrian intelligence authorities. Notably, multiple suspects have been arrested in latest years, as Germany is home to around one million Syrians, numerous of whom fled the war. By Jwan Shekaki
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