Two former high-ranking officials linked to the Syrian regime during the Bashar al Assad era have been sentenced in Austria to eight years in prison for torture and grievous bodily harm inflicted on around twenty civilians.
This is one of the first judicial proceedings in Europe against former Syrian officials for repression during Al Assad's mandate, who fled to Russia in early December 2024 following the offensive by jihadist and rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS). According to the ruling, the defendants have been found guilty of "numerous charges of grievous bodily harm, as well as aggravated coercion, torture, and sexual coercion" and "aggravated bodily harm, aggravated coercion, and sexual coercion," respectively.
The judicial decision emphasizes that both were "carriers of the system" and acted as "pillars of the police and intelligence regime" of Al Assad, within the context of a state apparatus that tortured "systematically." The court dismisses the possibility that the former commanders could have been unaware of the abuses and torture committed against members of the opposition.
The Vienna court stresses that, as "guarantors of custody" for the detainees, the two former high-ranking officials had the obligation to protect the prisoners and prevent any use of violence against them. The convicted individuals held the positions of former head of a department of the Syrian secret service and former head of the criminal police.
The Austrian Public Prosecutor's Office reproached the defendants for their attitude during the oral hearing in Vienna, denouncing that they attempted to present themselves as mere subordinate cogs within Damascus's repressive machinery, without real decision-making capacity.