A historic state-sponsored torture trial could mean some long-awaited justice for Syrians

Few would make the connection between a comparatively sleepy town in western Germany and some of the most hellish underground torture chambers of the regime of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. But Thursday will mark the verdict of the world’s first ever trial on state-sponsored torture in Syria. And it is taking place in Koblenz, Germany.

Eyad A, a low-level guard at the Syrian State Security Branch 251, is accused of crimes against humanity alongside Anwar R, the alleged head of interrogation at the same notorious detention facility in Damascus. They both defected from the Syrian government near the start of the revolution against President Assad and eventually sought asylum in Germany where investigations were first triggered.

Prosecutors allege that Anwar R oversaw the torture of at least 4,000 people there. Eyad has already been convicted last February of bringing at least 30 anti-government protesters to the notorious prison to be tortured in 201, which is he appealing.

The legal proceedings have been hailed by rights groups as a groundbreaking potential victory for Syrians and international justice as a whole because it is the only trial of its kind and one of the few potentially successful processes where – using the law of universal jurisdiction – there have been thorough investigations into allegations of serious crimes in Syria.

According to groups like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, the Syrian authorities have tortured tens of thousands of Syrians in the war-ravaged country.

Rights groups say it is particularly important that a respected court is exposing Syria’s systemic atrocities now when so many countries are rushing to embrace President Assad, who has effectively won the decade-long conflict. He may never see the inside of a courtroom himself due to the limitations of bodies like the International Criminal Court and the International Court of justice.

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And so verdicts like the one due on Thursday, though perhaps flawed, should not be lost in the general malaise of miserable news coming out of Syria, a country now synonymous with violence. It is an important step in the long pursuit for some form of justice and accountability for Syrians.

Yours,

Bel Trew

Middle East correspondent