German federal prosecutors have indicted a man suspected of being a former guard at a Syrian intelligence prison during the rule of Bashar al-Assad. The accused, identified only as “Fahd A.” due to German privacy regulations, is facing charges of committing crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and deprivation of liberty.
The indictment, filed on December 10th with the State Security Chamber of the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz, alleges that the suspect served at a Syrian intelligence-run prison in Damascus between April 2011 and April 2012. He was arrested in May in the western German town of Primasens and has remained in pre-trial detention since.
According to the prosecution, Fahd A. participated in over 100 interrogation sessions during which prisoners were subjected to severe physical abuse, including electric shocks and beatings with cables. The indictment further alleges that at least 70 prisoners died as a result of the mistreatment and appalling detention conditions.
“The accused also – on the orders of his superiors – mistreated prisoners at night, for example by hanging them from the ceiling, dousing them with cold water, or forcing them to remain in uncomfortable positions. As a result of this mistreatment and the catastrophic prison conditions, at least 70 prisoners died,” the official statement reads.
German prosecutors are utilizing universal jurisdiction laws, which allow them to prosecute individuals suspected of committing crimes against humanity regardless of where the offenses occurred. Based on these laws, several individuals suspected of war crimes during the Syrian conflict have been arrested in Germany in recent years. Germany is home to approximately one million Syrians.
