Dutch court sentences Syrian to 26 years for torturing for al-Assad | Bashar al-Assad News
Dutch Court Sentences Syrian Man to 26 Years for Crimes Against Humanity
A Dutch court has sentenced a Syrian man to 26 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed while he served under the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad.
The ruling was issued Monday by a court in The Hague, which found Rafik A guilty of torturing and raping detainees during his tenure as an interrogator. The court revealed that the defendant employed various forms of torture against prisoners at detention centers between 2013 and 2014, including suspending individuals upside down and administering electric shocks.
Presiding Judge Wim van Hattum detailed in a summary of the ruling that Rafik A was involved in acts of torture, rape, or other sexual abuses against eight victims, either by directly committing these acts or by instructing others to do so.
This sentence is part of a broader series of legal actions targeting Syrian nationals since al-Assad was ousted in December 2024 amid a rebel offensive. These landmark cases have highlighted severe human rights violations perpetrated during al-Assad’s rule, which resulted in a civil war that began in 2011 and endured for nearly 14 years.
European courts have invoked a legal principle known as universal jurisdiction, allowing for the prosecution of individuals for international crimes, regardless of where those crimes occurred.
Rafik A was apprehended in the Netherlands in 2023, after residing in the country as an asylum seeker for two years. Other charges against him were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
In June 2025, a German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life imprisonment for similar crimes against regime opponents. The court found Alaa Mousa guilty of murder and torture committed between 2011 and 2012, after a trial lasting over three years.
Rafik A’s trial marked a significant milestone in the Netherlands, as it was the first to prosecute sexual violence as a crime against humanity. Throughout the proceedings, Rafik A denied the allegations, referring to them as part of a “conspiracy.” His legal team asserted that he had also been a victim of torture by militias and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
In a related case last May, a French court sentenced Majdi Nema to 10 years in prison for his involvement in war crimes during Syria’s civil conflict. Nema, who served as a spokesman for a rebel group, was found guilty of conscripting minors and participating in the orchestration of war crimes.
