Dutch court sentences Syrian to 26 years for torturing for al-Assad
Key takeaways
- The sentence is the latest in a series of European cases against Syrians since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in 2024.
- The court in The Hague handed down the sentence to Rafik A on Monday, having found that he tortured and raped prisoners while working as an interrogator.
- The court heard that the defendant, whose last name it withheld, used several methods against opponents in detention centres in 2013 and 2014, including suspending them upside down and subjecting them to electric shocks.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
The sentence is the latest in a series of European cases against Syrians since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in 2024.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo. A torn poster shows the late Syrian President Hafez al-Assad and his son, the ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [File: Hussein Malla/AP]By Reuters and The Associated Press Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026A Dutch court has sentenced a Syrian man to 26 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed during his time working for the regime of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The court in The Hague handed down the sentence to Rafik A on Monday, having found that he tortured and raped prisoners while working as an interrogator.