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Two Syrians Deny Civil War Torture Accusations in Austria Trial

Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus in this May 28, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri/Files/File
Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus in this May 28, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri/Files/File
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Two Syrians Deny Civil War Torture Accusations in Austria Trial

Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus in this May 28, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri/Files/File
Police stand at the gate of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra area near the Syrian capital of Damascus in this May 28, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Khaled al-Hariri/Files/File

An ex-Syrian general and a former senior Syrian police officer pleaded not guilty on Monday to torturing opponents of ousted president Bashar al-Assad as their trial started in Vienna. 

The two face charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion and inflicting serious bodily harm. Prosecutors accused them of "having, on numerous occasions, ordered or failed to oppose the mistreatment of members of a protest movement". 

Brigadier General Khaled al-Halabi, 63, a former Syrian intelligence officer who has been in pre-trial detention since 2024, and Lieutenant Colonel Musab Abu Rukbah, a 54-year-old former police chief, are said to have committed the crimes in the city of Raqqa between April 2011 and March 2013. 

Both pleaded not guilty. 

Several similar cases relating to crimes committed during the Syrian civil war have been tried in other countries, including Germany, France and Sweden. 

Halabi -- a Druze, who fled Raqqa in 2013, just before the ISIS group overran the city -- denied that torture took place while he was in command. 

"There were no instructions" from the government to use violence, he told the court through a translator as masked, armed police stood watch. 

He added his unit just took down the personal details of those held and did not conduct any investigations. 

Abu Rukbah did not testify. His lawyer, Philipp Wolm, said there was no evidence against him. 

- 'Standardized torture methods' - 

The prosecution said Halabi got "direct instructions" from the Damascus government and violence was used "systematically" with "standardized torture methods," including beatings and being hosed down. 

The two Syrians applied for asylum in Austria in 2015. 

At the time of Halabi's indictment, activists considered him the highest-ranking Syrian official responsible for abuses present in Europe. 

He is charged with torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion, as well as multiple counts of serious bodily harm. Abu Rukbah is accused of serious bodily harm, aggravated coercion and sexual coercion. Both face up to 10 years in prison. 

"Twenty-one individuals detained in prisons were tortured and abused as part of the crackdown on a civilian protest movement," Austrian prosecutors said in their statement deny ahead of the trial. 

The 10-year statute of limitations that would ordinarily apply was lifted, the indictment said. 

International treaties including the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court meant prosecutors were obliged to bring charges, it said. 

Austrian law provides for the jurisdiction of local courts over certain offences committed abroad. 

- Alleged victims to testify - 

The Vienna court has jurisdiction because the defendants reside there. The trial is scheduled to last until June 30 with alleged victims residing in Syria and Europe expected to testify. 

Anwar al-Bunni, a Syrian lawyer based in Germany who himself spent five years in Syrian prisons and was present for Monday's trial opening, said the general should have faced additional charges. 

He called the trial "important" but told AFP: "I don't know really why they don't charge him with crimes against humanity". 

Senior Austrian officials suspected of having protected the former brigadier general were acquitted in 2023. 

Prosecutors had accused them of helping him obtain protection in the Alpine country, referencing an agreement allegedly concluded in May 2015 with the Israeli Mossad intelligence. 

Mossad is said to have brought the Syrian military officer to Austria from France, where he was at the time, according to local media. 

When asked in court, Halabi said relatives helped him. 

In 2016, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), a group that gathers evidence for alleged war criminals, informed Vienna of Halabi's alleged crimes. 

According to Austrian news agency APA, the agreement with Mossad, code-named "White Milk", had been overseen by Martin Weiss, then head of the Austrian intelligence service (BVT). 

Weiss is on the run and wanted for supposed links to fugitive Austrian spy, Jan Marsalek, who is suspected of being protected by Moscow. 

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Arab World

Iraq Opens Special Account for Recovered Illicit Funds as Anti-Corruption Drive Expands

Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq Opens Special Account for Recovered Illicit Funds as Anti-Corruption Drive Expands

Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)
Iraqi police personnel patrol in their vehicle along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered on Monday the Finance Ministry to open a dedicated account for money recovered from illicit enrichment cases, as the government pressed ahead with its anti-corruption campaign. Meanwhile, the Federal Commission of Integrity said a draft law on asset recovery will soon be submitted to parliament.

Government spokesman Haider al-Aboudi revealed that the new account would hold funds recovered from people convicted of illicit enrichment, stressing that the government remains committed to protecting public money and strengthening state institutions.

In remarks to the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), al-Aboudi said the government had adopted a comprehensive approach to institutional reform and combating corruption.

He added that Operation Dawn had resulted in the arrest of 21 suspects, while others remain at large.

Investigators are using suspects’ confessions to uncover broader corruption networks involving additional individuals and assets, he revealed.

Separately, Abbas Mutib, director general of the Integrity Commission’s asset recovery department and deputy chairman of the Iraq Asset Recovery Fund, said the commission had made significant progress in digital transformation, enabling it to freeze substantial assets abroad and prevent those accused of corruption from disposing of them.

Mutib noted that the commission is coordinating with the Justice Ministry to pursue civil lawsuits aimed at recovering frozen assets overseas, adding that authorities have already succeeded in recovering sizable sums.

Former tax chief sentenced

The Federal Commission of Integrity also announced prison sentences against former General Commission for Taxes Director General Osama Hossam Jawdat and his wife after their conviction on money laundering charges.

According to the commission, the Central Criminal Court for Combating Corruption sentenced Jawdat to 10 years in prison and his wife to five years and one month under Iraq’s 2015 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Law.

The court ordered the couple to pay a fine of IQD 32.496 billion (about $25 million), confiscated 10 properties in Baghdad and 12 properties in Türkiye registered in the wife’s name, as well as seized cash, rental income, gold jewelry, and funds deposited in Kuwaiti and Turkish banks. It also ordered the freezing of their movable and immovable assets.

Broad public backing

An Iraqi security personnel stands guard along a street in Baghdad on June 28, 2026. (AFP)

The government’s sweeping arrests on Sunday have drawn strong political and public support after targeting senior officials, lawmakers, and government directors, raising hopes that Iraq may finally curb corruption, which unofficial estimates say has cost the country more than $500 billion.

More than 50 suspects have been arrested so far, while some estimates suggest the number of wanted individuals could eventually exceed 1,000.

Dozens of activists gathered Sunday evening in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to express support for the campaign.

Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr praised the “heroic reform measures,” saying the arrests had restored hope among Iraqis after years of entrenched corruption.

He commended the judiciary and security forces, particularly the Counter Terrorism Service, for carrying out the arrests.

More arrests expected

Ghalib al-Daami, a lecturer at the Iraqi Academy for Combating Corruption, told Asharq Al-Awsat that more than 50 prominent figures had already been detained and predicted the campaign could ultimately target more than 1,000 individuals.

While many observers doubt the crackdown will reach Iraq’s most powerful political leaders, al-Daami said he expects the “downfall” of three senior political figures in the coming days.

He also claimed the campaign has received direct US backing, particularly following the arrest of former Deputy Oil Minister Adnan al-Jumaili and another deputy minister, Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, who has been sanctioned by the US for allegedly facilitating Iranian oil sales.

Political scientist Firas Elias of the University of Mosul said the campaign represents “a real test of the state’s authority.”

Its success should be measured not by the number of arrests but by its ability to secure fair convictions and recover stolen assets, he added.

If the law is applied equally to everyone, the campaign could mark a turning point in relations between the state and Iraq’s political class, he remarked. But if it stops with selected figures or becomes a tool for settling political scores, it will quickly lose credibility and allow corruption to reemerge in new forms.

Arab World

Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
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Gazans Turn to Clay, Rubble to Build New Homes

A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA
A Palestinian boy makes his way across rubble near a displacement camp in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on Sunday. Credit: AFP/EYAD BABA

While Gaza’s housing crisis remains catastrophic with cement and steel blocked by Israel from entering the Strip, some Palestinians are turning to improvised methods and other workarounds in a bid to make their shelters safer or more habitable.

Among those Palestinians is Jaafar Atallah, a potter in Gaza, who decided to build a home from the earth. It was to be like the bread ovens his family had been making for generations, but big enough for his parents to live in, according to the Financial Times.

Atallah gathered clay from an area of Gaza a few kilometers from his tent and — with the help of about 15 people, including his father, also a potter — he set about making mud bricks.

For months, they learned as they built. Finally, they completed a domed hut, “so solid you could stand on top of it”, said Atallah, whose project was backed by pottery groups around the world after he shared videos online.

The clay structure was a relief after the flimsy protection of the tent: “You can keep your food in this room. In a tent, tomatoes and cucumbers won’t last a day and will rot. Life in the tents is so hard. There is such heat in the summer, it is torture,” Atallah said.

Atallah’s experience reflects the reality of thousands of families looking for alternatives after almost all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed by two years of bombardment amid Israel’s ban on concrete and steel imports.

Several Gazans are reusing steel reinforcing bars and concrete from the debris of buildings, scavenging for cement lying underwater in the port and resorting to mud to make bricks and mortar.

“We already have clay in our land, we don’t have to manufacture it, we don’t need things that we have to get from the crossing [with Israel], which is at the whim of the occupation,” said Atallah, who even designed a waterproof glaze for the bricks. “The occupation does not control this. It’s from our land, our soil.”

According to the UN, 1.9 million Gazans are displaced or live in tents, which lack sanitation or other utilities.

Reconstruction of Gaza remains a distant dream for its people. Israel bans building materials from entering Gaza on the grounds that the materials may be used for military purposes such as tunnel construction.

In May, teenage sisters Tala, 17, and Farah Moussa, 15, won a youth-focused award from the Swiss-based Earth Foundation for recycling cement debris into bricks.

Displaced with their family five times since the start of the war, they now live in a tent in Nuseirat in the center of the Gaza Strip. “We got the idea when our house was bombed,” said Tala. “We thought we had to do something and find a solution that comes from the problem itself, so we are using the rubble.”

Tala said, “We made five or six prototypes before we got it right. We researched on the internet and in books. Now we want to use the [$12,500] prize money to set up workshops to teach others how to make bricks.”

Using mud and stones, Gaza residents rebuild homes destroyed in months of conflict, as lack of access to construction material leaves families with few options.

Their efforts reflect the ability to adapt to the most extreme conditions to restore a normal life, even within walls built from the earth and the debris of buildings.

Arab World

Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
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Yemen Seeks Resumption of US Investments in Energy Sector

Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)
Al-Alimi during his meeting with the delegation from Hunt Oil Company (Saba)

The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Rashad Al-Alimi, has met with a delegation from the American Hunt Oil Company, headed by the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Hunter Hunt.

The meeting on Sunday reviewed opportunities for partnership between the Yemeni government and Hunt Oil in the exploration, production, and export of oil and gas. It also discussed prospects for the company to resume its investments in Yemen in support of the country’s economic recovery and energy security.

Al-Alimi was briefed by the delegation on the company’s current operations, future plans, and promising investment opportunities in Yemen’s oil sector, building on its long-standing partnership with the Yemeni government.

The PLC President praised Hunt Oil’s pioneering role in establishing Yemen’s petroleum sector, including the discovery of the country’s first commercially viable oil reserves, its contributions to developing oil infrastructure, training national personnel, and its role as a key partner in the Yemen LNG project.

He said these contributions would remain a source of appreciation for both the government and the Yemeni people.

Al-Alimi also outlined the economic, financial, and administrative reforms being implemented by the government, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

He highlighted efforts to improve the investment climate, strengthen transparency and governance, and provide the necessary guarantees for the return of foreign companies across various sectors.

He commended Saudi support to Yemen’s economy, describing it as a key pillar for enhancing stability, advancing economic reform, and restoring investor confidence.

The PLC President reaffirmed the state’s commitment to providing all necessary support and facilities for investors. He said the government would work with regional and international partners to secure vital infrastructure and create conditions for the resumption of production activities.

He added that improving living standards and security across the country remains a top priority for the Yemeni government.