Ex-Syrian intelligence chief in Raqqa convicted of torture in Austria
Summary
An Austrian court found Khaled al-Halabi, a former Syrian intelligence officer, guilty of torture and other abuses against opponents of Syria’s previous President Bashar al-Assad. He was sentenced to eight years in prison along with another former Syrian official, Musab Abu Rukbah, for crimes committed during Syria’s civil war.Key Facts
- Khaled al-Halabi was a brigadier general in Syria’s intelligence service in Raqqa from 2011 to 2013.
- He was sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in Vienna, Austria.
- Al-Halabi was found guilty of torture, serious bodily harm, aggravated coercion, and sexual assault.
- Musab Abu Rukbah, a former police lieutenant colonel, was also sentenced to eight years for similar crimes excluding torture.
- Over a dozen victims testified about beatings, electric shocks, and being hosed with hot and cold water.
- The court ruled al-Halabi knew about and was responsible for the torture while in charge of detainees.
- This trial is one of the few instances where a European country prosecuted Syrian state agents for war crimes.
- Al-Halabi claimed he helped the Free Syrian Army take Raqqa and denied knowledge of torture devices used in his facility.
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