Image source: @pkroker2
Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Anwar al-Bunni confirmed that the German judiciary has upheld the life imprisonment sentence against former Syrian regime officer Anwar Raslan.
Al-Bunni posted on his page on the platform X that the German Federal Court of Justice upheld the verdict issued by the Koblenz court in January 2022 against Anwar Raslan, sentencing him to life imprisonment for committing crimes against humanity.
The trial of Anwar Raslan is considered the “world’s first trial” in Germany of individuals accused of state-sponsored torture, aiming to hold a member of the Syrian regime accountable for committing war crimes, torture, and human rights violations against individuals of the Syrian population.
Patrick Kroker, a senior legal adviser and attorney specializing in international criminal law and human rights law, stated that the investigation process (regarding the accusations against Anwar Raslan), which began in 2018, can be said to have concluded two and a half years after the Koblenz court’s verdict in January 2022.
Kroker praised the Federal Court of Justice for taking a clear stance on the issue of functional immunity (the immunity of government officials in the International Law Commission) and not applying it in cases of international crimes.
According to the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), one of the victims stated that Anwar Raslan’s trial in Germany provides “hope” for achieving justice for all surviving Syrians, even if it takes a long time.
Raslan’s trial began in 2020, charged with overseeing the killing of 58 people and torturing 4,000 others in the 251 Intelligence Branch, known as (Al-Khatib Branch), and crimes committed between 2011 and 2012, based on testimonies from survivors and photos of detainees who died under torture documented in the Caesar photos file.
Raslan was tried alongside Eyad al-Gharib, who was an officer serving in the same branch and later defected from the regime and sought asylum in Germany, although the defendants’ cases were separated.
The trial sessions began on April 23, 2020, with more than 80 witnesses appearing before the German judiciary, including 12 defectors from the Syrian regime and several witnesses from various European countries testifying about the torture they endured in Al-Khatib Branch.
Raslan defected from the Syrian regime forces in 2012 and sought asylum in Germany with his family in 2014. He was arrested in February 2019 after being recognized by lawyer Anwar al-Bunni on a street in the German capital, Berlin.
Raslan considered himself wronged in the trial because he lacked authority and claimed he was executing orders from other officers in the regime, despite the crimes of murder, torture, arbitrary detention, and sexual assault.
“same justice” organization calls for prosecuting all officials accused of committing crimes against humanity and the necessity of bringing them to trial to achieve justice for the victims and their families.
