KOBLENZ, Germany (Reuters) – Two suspected members of President Bashar al-Assad’s security services had charges of torture and sexual assault read out against them on Thursday in a German court, in what lawyers say is the first trial for war crimes by Syrian government agents.
German presiding judge Anne Kerber stands in the courtroom prior to the start of the first trial of suspected members of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s security services for crimes against humanity, in Koblenz, Germany, April 23, 2020. Thomas Lohnes/Pool via REUTERS
Anwar R., a former intelligence officer who applied for asylum in Germany six years ago after leaving Syria, is charged with 58 murders in a Damascus prison where prosecutors say at least 4,000 opposition activists were tortured in 2011 and 2012.
Grey haired, with a bald patch and wearing a moustache, glasses and a dark sweater, he sat calmly behind a glass cubicle erected under hygiene rules adopted by the court against the coronavirus outbreak. The charges read out included at least one rape and multiple sexual assaults.
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