A Dutch court in The Hague sentenced Syrian national Rafik A. to 26 years in prison on Monday for crimes against humanity committed while working for the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The court found that the defendant, whose surname was withheld, tortured and raped prisoners while serving as an interrogator in detention centers in 2013 and 2014. Methods included suspending victims upside down and administering electric shocks.

Presiding Judge Wim van Hattum stated: "The suspect was engaged in torture, rape or other sexual abuse of eight victims in this case, either by committing the acts himself or by ordering others to do so." This marks the first trial in the Netherlands where sexual violence was prosecuted as a crime against humanity.

Rafik A. was arrested in the Netherlands in 2023 after two years as an asylum seeker. He denied the charges, calling them a "conspiracy," while his lawyers argued he was himself tortured by militias and suffers from PTSD. Some charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence.

The ruling is part of a series of cases against Syrian nationals since al-Assad's overthrow in December 2024. European courts have applied universal jurisdiction to prosecute international crimes committed abroad.

In a related case, a German court sentenced Syrian doctor Alaa Mousa to life in prison in June 2024 for crimes against humanity. A French court also sentenced rebel spokesman Majdi Nema to 10 years for war crimes in May 2024.

Source: www.aljazeera.com