Two former officials of the security services of the government of the overthrown ex-president Bashar al Assad, prosecuted in Austria for crimes of torture, grievous bodily harm, and sexual assault, have declared themselves innocent this Monday at the start of the trial in which they face sentences of up to ten years in prison.
On the bench sit former Intelligence General Jaled al Halabi—considered by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights as the highest-ranking representative of the former Syrian government arrested in Europe—and Police Chief Musab Abú Rukba. The prosecution maintains that both mistreated people in custody and ordered subordinates to do the same.
Despite the gravity of the accusations, the two defendants have rejected all charges, which could lead to prison sentences of up to ten years. The trial schedule still foresees thirteen more days of hearings until the end of June, during which 18 alleged victims must testify.
According to the indictment, the abuses were allegedly committed between 2011 and 2013 in the city of Raqa. During that period, the former general headed an intelligence service in the town, in coordination with the also accused police chief, who operated in the same city.
In those years, Syrian authorities repressed political mobilizations in a growing spiral of violence and repression, as stated by the prosecution, which has the support of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other organizations involved in the case.
Protests against the Syrian government began in 2011 and were violently suppressed, leading to a chain of events that resulted in numerous crimes against humanity. The conflict eventually transformed into a civil war with the participation of international actors and culminated in the overthrow of Al Assad at the end of 2024. Shortly thereafter, Ahmed al Shara, then leader of the armed group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, who led the offensive of jihadists and rebels that deposed the former Baathist president, assumed the presidency on a transitional basis.