On September 23, a Dutch court in The Hague sentenced Rafik A., a Syrian national, to 26 years in prison for crimes against humanity, including torture and rape of detainees during his time as an interrogator for the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad.
According to the court, Rafik A. used various torture methods against opponents in detention centers in 2013 and 2014, including hanging by the ankles and electric shocks. Presiding judge Wim van Hattum stated: “The defendant participated in torturing, raping, or sexually abusing eight victims in this case, either by doing it himself or ordering others to do it.”
This is one of the landmark cases in Europe targeting individuals involved in serious human rights violations under al-Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024. European courts have applied the principle of universal jurisdiction, allowing them to prosecute international crimes even when committed abroad.
Rafik A. was arrested in the Netherlands in 2023, after spending two years seeking asylum there. Some other charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. This is the first trial in the Netherlands where sexual violence was prosecuted as a crime against humanity. The defendant denied all charges, calling them a “conspiracy,” while his lawyer said his client had been tortured by militias and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In similar cases, in June last year, a German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life in prison for crimes against humanity. In May last year, a French court sentenced Majdi Nema to 10 years in prison for war crimes for his role as a spokesperson for a rebel group fighting al-Assad, including recruiting minors aged 15 to 18.
