GERMAN COURT JAILS SYRIA AGENT IN TORTURE TRIAL

A German court on Wednesday convicted a former Syrian intelligence officer of aiding and abetting crimes against humanity following a landmark trial.

Eyad al-gharib was found guilty of complicity in the torture of 30 people he took prisoner during protests against the Assad regime in 2011. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Gharib, who claimed asylum in Germany in 2018, is the first former Syrian official to be convicted of crimes against humanity.

“This is a historic decision because for the first time a verdict was issued against a criminal belonging to the Syrian regime who committed crimes within the state security system,” Anwar al-bunni, a Syrian lawyer and activist, said in a statement.