BEIRUT, Lebanon – A German court convicted a former Syrian security officer on Wednesday for helping and inciting crimes against humanity for his role in arresting and transporting protesters to an interrogation center known for torture for nearly a decade.
The defendant, Eyad al-Gharib, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison in a case that human rights groups see as a milestone in the effort to ensure justice for crimes committed by Syrian officials during the country’s civil war.
As the war in Syria approaches its 10th anniversary, the country is sinking into a deep economic crisis, with poverty and hunger spreading. But President Bashar al-Assad remains in power.
A sense of hopelessness about obtaining justice in Syria has led defenders of rights to focus on European courts, many of whom can try foreigners for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
Working frequently with Syrian refugees in Europe, the groups identified suspects who also sought refuge in Europe and tracked witnesses who testified about crimes committed in Syria.
Although European courts have already condemned low-ranking Syrian soldiers, Wednesday’s case was the first in which the court found a former Syrian officer guilty of crimes against humanity.
Mr. al-Gharib, 44, entered Germany in April 2018 and was arrested along with a middle-level Syrian intelligence officer, Anwar Raslan, in February 2019.
The two men were tried together at the Regional High Court in Koblenz in April 2020, but al-Gharib’s case was closed this month because the prosecution had run out of evidence against him. Mr. Raslan’s trial continues.
Melissa Eddy contributed reporting from Berlin.