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As a Syrian torturer is jailed, a debate on justice begins
The verdict against Anwar Raslan, who is now serving a life sentence in Germany, was welcomed, but some urge caution.
Koblenz, Germany – When former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life in a German prison last week, many hailed the decision as historic.
The Syrian defector was found guilty of complicity in 4,000 cases of torture, at least 27 deaths and of physical and sexual assaults, while he was in charge of Branch 251 of the notoriously brutal Syrian secret service in Damascus.
But can the trial of one mid-level military man really bring justice for millions of Syrians who have lost so much over the past decade?
For the Syrian exile community in Germany, Raslan’s arrest in February 2019 was controversial, not least because he had helped some opposition activists before he defected in 2012.
Trial observers pointed out that about a dozen other defectors testified against Raslan, including another senior member of the Syrian secret service. None were arrested.
During the hearings, one witness who had been interrogated by Raslan at Branch 251 told the court that all Syrians were victims of the government’s lies. That included Raslan.
Another witness said they would rather see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sitting in court.
Raslan’s defence lawyers, meanwhile, questioned the boundaries of individual responsibility in an authoritarian state.
“This is not ‘the’ justice,” said Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian human rights activist who heads the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression in Paris, and who testified during Raslan’s trial.
“But it is important because it is the first time we have had an independent court looking into this. These are not just survivors’ stories or reports from human rights organisations. A court of law says there is systematic torture in Syria.”
Syrian Fadwa Mahmoud holds a photo of her son and partner as she leaves the court in Koblenz, western Germany, on January 13, 2022 [Thomas Frey/AFP/Pool]
Darwish echoed the conclusion reached by lawyers, torture survivors and activists, adding: “It’s just one step on a long road.”
Wolfgang Kaleck, who heads the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, which played an integral role in the case by supporting 14 co-plaintiffs and helping with outreach, said: “You have to acknowledge that it’s never enough.”
After the Second World War, Germans had similar debates.
“And it was clear that criminal justice could not offer a comprehensive answer to crimes of the Holocaust. So there is no easy answer. But is this the right step forward [for Syria]? I would say yes.”
The headline-making trial has been a success in many ways – especially as a learning experience for Syrians and the global legal community.
“The lesson [for Syrians] is that we are all equal under the law and that any victim has the right to seek justice, regardless of identity or affiliation,” said Mansour Omari, a Syrian activist and researcher for Reporters without Borders.
www.aljazeera.com
The verdict against Anwar Raslan, who is now serving a life sentence in Germany, was welcomed, but some urge caution.
Koblenz, Germany – When former Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life in a German prison last week, many hailed the decision as historic.
The Syrian defector was found guilty of complicity in 4,000 cases of torture, at least 27 deaths and of physical and sexual assaults, while he was in charge of Branch 251 of the notoriously brutal Syrian secret service in Damascus.
But can the trial of one mid-level military man really bring justice for millions of Syrians who have lost so much over the past decade?
For the Syrian exile community in Germany, Raslan’s arrest in February 2019 was controversial, not least because he had helped some opposition activists before he defected in 2012.
Trial observers pointed out that about a dozen other defectors testified against Raslan, including another senior member of the Syrian secret service. None were arrested.
During the hearings, one witness who had been interrogated by Raslan at Branch 251 told the court that all Syrians were victims of the government’s lies. That included Raslan.
Another witness said they would rather see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sitting in court.
Raslan’s defence lawyers, meanwhile, questioned the boundaries of individual responsibility in an authoritarian state.
“This is not ‘the’ justice,” said Mazen Darwish, a prominent Syrian human rights activist who heads the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression in Paris, and who testified during Raslan’s trial.
“But it is important because it is the first time we have had an independent court looking into this. These are not just survivors’ stories or reports from human rights organisations. A court of law says there is systematic torture in Syria.”
Syrian Fadwa Mahmoud holds a photo of her son and partner as she leaves the court in Koblenz, western Germany, on January 13, 2022 [Thomas Frey/AFP/Pool]
Darwish echoed the conclusion reached by lawyers, torture survivors and activists, adding: “It’s just one step on a long road.”
Wolfgang Kaleck, who heads the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, which played an integral role in the case by supporting 14 co-plaintiffs and helping with outreach, said: “You have to acknowledge that it’s never enough.”
After the Second World War, Germans had similar debates.
“And it was clear that criminal justice could not offer a comprehensive answer to crimes of the Holocaust. So there is no easy answer. But is this the right step forward [for Syria]? I would say yes.”
The headline-making trial has been a success in many ways – especially as a learning experience for Syrians and the global legal community.
“The lesson [for Syrians] is that we are all equal under the law and that any victim has the right to seek justice, regardless of identity or affiliation,” said Mansour Omari, a Syrian activist and researcher for Reporters without Borders.
As a Syrian torturer is jailed, a debate on justice begins
The verdict against Anwar Raslan, who is now serving a life sentence in Germany, was welcomed, but some urge caution.
