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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

Houthi Attacks Threaten Thousands of African Refugees in Western Lahj

Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
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Houthi Attacks Threaten Thousands of African Refugees in Western Lahj

Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)
Tens of thousands of African refugees face risks from Houthi escalation (local media)

Escalating Houthi military operations in southwestern Yemen are putting thousands of refugees from the Horn of Africa at growing risk, with missile strikes near a refugee camp disrupting essential services, restricting movement and forcing families already displaced by conflict to seek safety elsewhere.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis affecting more than 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen, where mounting insecurity, economic collapse, dwindling resources and restrictions on aid access have left tens of thousands without safe shelter or basic necessities.

Despite the worsening conflict, thousands continue to risk their lives on perilous sea crossings from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, the agency said.

At the center of the latest concerns is Kharaz refugee camp in Lahj province, home to about 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia and located just tens of kilometers from areas of fighting.

While no refugee casualties have been reported or confirmed, missile strikes in surrounding areas have forced some services to shut down and restricted residents' movement, deepening fear among families who had already fled violence and conflict in their home countries.

UNHCR partners, working with local authorities, have managed to deliver food aid to the camp, while healthcare and water supplies continue despite serious difficulties.

Other essential services have nearly ground to a halt. Schools have suspended classes, while legal assistance and documentation services have stopped. Soaring fuel and basic commodity prices have added to the strain, leaving refugee families struggling to meet their daily needs.

Refugees flee again

With insecurity mounting and humanitarian access increasingly restricted, refugee families have begun leaving Kharaz and other parts of western Yemen for safer areas in the south, including Aden.

But even the journey to safety carries risks. Families are forced to travel along routes used by warring parties, exposing them to further insecurity.

The deteriorating situation has also driven a rise in requests for voluntary repatriation, as growing numbers of refugees seek help returning to their home countries.

Since the Houthi offensive intensified in August, UNHCR has organized three flights from Aden to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, returning 607 Somali refugees to their homeland. More than 1,100 others have expressed a desire to return.

Yet those efforts are also under threat. UNHCR warned that continued strikes targeting airports and intensifying clashes were endangering refugees and aid workers and jeopardizing voluntary repatriation operations.

More than 134,000 arrivals

Even as years of conflict have left Yemen grappling with one of the world's most protracted humanitarian emergencies, migrants and asylum seekers continue to arrive on its shores.

More than 134,000 migrants and asylum seekers crossed by sea from the Horn of Africa in the first nine months of the year, fleeing conflict, persecution, instability and poverty, according to UNHCR.

Many hope to pass through Yemen on their way to other countries. Instead, they find themselves in a nation where deteriorating security and humanitarian conditions have made daily life increasingly precarious.

The flow is also moving in the opposite direction. Since September, about 4,200 people have left Yemen by sea for Djibouti and Somalia, with humanitarian organizations expecting departures to rise as maritime conditions improve.

The movements come as more than 300,000 Yemenis remain displaced following upheaval in recent months, adding to pressure on scarce resources and overstretched humanitarian services.

For residents, refugees and migrants alike, the overlapping crises are deepening hardship in a country already battered by years of conflict.

UNHCR warned that without urgent international action, adequate funding and unhindered humanitarian access, thousands more could be forced to flee, facing further deprivation and suffering.

Arab World

Guterres Condemns Escalation of Drone Attacks in Sudan

Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
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Guterres Condemns Escalation of Drone Attacks in Sudan

Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS
Local administration officials visit a market after a reported drone attack, in a location given as Abyei region, along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 20, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a handout video. Radio Tamazuj/Handout via REUTERS

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns the escalating drone attacks in Sudan by the parties to the conflict and the catastrophic toll these attacks are inflicting on civilians, according to a statement by his spokesperson.

Across the country, as well as in Abyei, drones have killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, which constitute violations of international humanitarian law, a statement by Stephane Dujarric said on Saturday.

“The Secretary-General is appalled by all the attacks directed against civilians and critical infrastructure, including health facilities,” it noted.

Guterres called on the parties to spare the civilian population and critical infrastructure and agree without delay to a cessation of hostilities as a first step towards ending this devastating conflict.

He renewed his urgent appeal to the parties to engage in good faith with mediation efforts.

Dujarric’s statement noted that the United Nations stands ready to support any efforts to advance a sustainable political resolution that reflects the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Now in its fourth year, Sudan's conflict has already killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions and triggered what the UN describes as one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

Arab World

UN Demands Probe into Death of Its Employee in Houthi Custody

Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
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UN Demands Probe into Death of Its Employee in Houthi Custody

Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
Armed Yemeni supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis brandish their weapons during a protest against US strikes on Iran in Sanaa on July 10, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)

The United Nations on Saturday condemned the "heartbreaking" death of one of its employees in Yemen under custody of the Houthis and demanded an inquiry.

Mohammad al-Shami, a staff member of the UN Human Rights Office in Yemen, had been "arbitrarily held" by the Houthis since June 2024, the organization said in a statement.

It cited his family as saying he had died more than a month ago but that his relatives had only been recently informed.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said in the statement that no explanation had been given for the "heartbreaking loss".

The statement said Turk "demanded full transparency from the Houthis and an urgent, independent and thorough investigation into his death".

It quoted Turk as saying he was also "gravely concerned for the safety and well-being of the other UN personnel who remain detained", demanding their release.

The Houthis "are gravely undermining our ability to support the people of Yemen during a most serious humanitarian and human rights crisis," he said.

"I urge them to change course."

On October 14, UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York that 71 UN personnel were being held by the Houthis.