German court rejects former Syrian officer’s appeal against conviction
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A German federal court rejected on Monday the appeal of a former Syrian secret police officer who had been convicted of overseeing the abuse of detainees in Syria.
The Federal Court of Justice stated that it found no “legal error to the detriment of the accused” and dismissed all “procedural objections.”
In January 2022, Koblenz court in the western German city sentenced Anwar Raslan, ex-colonel of the Syrian Intelligence, to life in prison for crimes against humanity for his part in murdering 58 detainees, raping others, and torturing about 4,000 prisoners.
Raslan, who headed the Interrogation Branch Damascus detention center known as al-Khatib Branch 251, arrived in Germany in 2015 and was allowed to practice medicine under his Syrian medical credentials.