Germany Convicts Syrian Ex-Intelligence Member in Torture Trial

A Syrian army soldier stands next to a Syrian flag in the countryside of Daraa. Reuters file photo
A Syrian army soldier stands next to a Syrian flag in the countryside of Daraa. Reuters file photo
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Germany Convicts Syrian Ex-Intelligence Member in Torture Trial

A Syrian army soldier stands next to a Syrian flag in the countryside of Daraa. Reuters file photo
A Syrian army soldier stands next to a Syrian flag in the countryside of Daraa. Reuters file photo

A German court on Wednesday convicted a former Syrian intelligence service agent for complicity in crimes against humanity, in the first court case worldwide over state-sponsored torture by Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Eyad al-Gharib, 44, was found guilty over his role in helping to arrest protesters and deliver them to a detention center in Damascus in autumn 2011.

"The accused is sentenced to four years and six months for aiding and abetting a crime against humanity in the form of torture and deprivation of liberty," judge Anne Kerber said.

Gharib hid his face from the cameras with a folder as the verdict was read out, arms folded and wearing a medical mask.

The judgement is the first in the world related to the brutal repression of protesters by the regime in Damascus.

Gharib, a former low-ranking member of the intelligence service, is accused of helping to arrest at least 30 protesters and deliver them to the Al-Khatib detention center in Damascus after a rally in Duma.

He is the first of two defendants on trial since April 23 to be sentenced by the court in Koblenz, after judges decided to split the proceedings in two, AFP reported.

The second defendant, Anwar Raslan, 58, is accused directly of crimes against humanity, including overseeing the murder of 58 people and the torture of 4,000 others.

Raslan's trial is expected to last until at least the end of October.

The two men are being tried on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a foreign country to prosecute crimes against humanity, including war crimes and genocide, regardless of where they were committed.

After spending time in Turkey and then Greece, Gharib arrived in Germany on April 25, 2018.

He has never denied his past, and in fact it was his stories told to German authorities in charge of his asylum application that eventually led to his arrest in February 2019.

Prosecutors accused him of being a cog in the machine of a system where torture was practiced on an "almost industrial scale".

During the trial, Gharib wrote a letter read out by his lawyers in which he expressed his sorrow for the victims.

And it was with tears streaming down his face that he listened to his lawyers call for his acquittal, arguing that he and his family could have been killed if he had not carried out the orders of the regime.

But Patrick Kroker, a lawyer representing the joint plaintiffs, argued that Gharib could have been more forthcoming during the trial, rather than keeping silent throughout the hearings.

People like him "can be very important in informing us about the (Syrian officials) we are really targeting, but it is something he chose not to do," said Kroker.



UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday slammed as "unacceptable" the deaths of Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, a spokesman said, calling the loss of life in the territory "unthinkable".

"The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held to account," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza (and) the secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid," he said. "It is unacceptable civilians are risking and in several instances losing their lives just trying to get food."

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third day of chaos and bloodshed to affect the aid operation.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting.

The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site".

However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.