Austrian court convicts former Syrian intelligence chief of torture and sexual abuse

A court in Vienna has convicted a former Syrian intelligence chief and a former police chief over torture and sexual abuse committed against political opponents in Raqqa. The verdict is a rare example of a European court exercising jurisdiction over alleged crimes linked to officials from Bashar al-Assad's government. Both men were sentenced to eight years in prison.

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The former intelligence chief, identified under Austrian privacy rules as Khaled al-H., was found guilty of torture, sexual coercion, aggravated coercion and inflicting serious bodily harm. The second defendant, named as Moussab Abou R., was also convicted of sexual coercion, aggravated coercion and serious bodily harm. Prosecutors said the abuse was used to suppress protests against the regime and intimidate the population.

According to the court case, Khaled al-H. headed Syria's General Intelligence Directorate in Raqqa from 2011 to 2013, covering the period after the uprising against Assad began and before the Free Syrian Army took control of the city. Prosecutors said the men ordered or failed to stop abuse of anti-government protesters on many occasions. Both defendants denied the charges during the trial, and Khaled al-H. said he had not ordered or witnessed torture at his workplace.

The case has wider significance because it reflects the use of European legal systems to pursue accountability for alleged war crimes and abuses committed during Syria's conflict. It also highlights the continuing reach of cases linked to the early years of the uprising, when security services were accused of harsh repression in areas that later changed hands. Victims travelled from across Europe and Syria to give evidence, underlining the international dimension of the proceedings.

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Testimony described detainees being stripped naked, beaten, given electric shocks or doused in hot and cold water. One witness said he was hit on the soles of his feet with electric cables, and the court heard that many victims suffered lasting mental trauma. The defendants had both applied for asylum in Austria in 2015, adding another layer to a case that has drawn attention because of the route the men took into the country and the unusual nature of the prosecution.

What remains unclear is whether either man will challenge the verdict or sentence, and whether the case will lead to further proceedings involving other alleged abuses in Raqqa. The trial has already shown how testimony from former detainees can be gathered across borders years after the events in question. It also leaves open whether similar cases will continue to test European courts' willingness to hear allegations tied to Syria's war.

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