Activists hope to increase similar cases, both in Germany and elsewhere, against perpetrators of gender-based violence in Syria, Kaleck added.
Raslan is accused of overseeing the “systematic and brutal torture” of more than 4,000 prisoners between April 2011 and September 2012, which resulted in the deaths of at least 58 people. A verdict in his case is expected later this year.
Al-Gharib was one of Raslan’s underlings. When he was a sergeant major, his unit was allegedly involved in chasing and detaining at least 30 people after the demonstration in Douma, and then taking them to a detention center where they were tortured.
Al-Gharib left Syria in 2013 and came to Germany in 2018. The two men were arrested a year later.
Steve Kostas, a senior lawyer at the New York-based Open Society Justice Initiative, praised Germany for leading the prosecution. He said other countries should resume prosecution immediately, especially countries where the Syrian government perpetrators are known to live.
“Although this verdict will be made against one perpetrator, the evidence shows the scale and systematicity of the Syrian government’s torture program,” said Kostas, whose group represents the four victims in the Raslan case. Two clients left because of concerns about them or them. family safety.