#JusticeDone: Syrian official sentenced to life for crimes against humanity with support of joint investigation team assisted by Eurojust

Justice Done: In a landmark judgement on 13 January 2022, the German Higher Regional Court of Koblenz sentenced a former high-ranking Syrian official to life imprisonment for his involvement in crimes against humanity. In 2021, an associate of the high-ranking official was sentenced by the same court to four and a half years’ imprisonment for crimes against humanity and torture.

Crime: In 2011 and 2012, an official of the Syrian intelligence services caused the death of 27 members of the opposition to the regime, as a result of torture and inhumane conditions of imprisonment.

Action: The Syrian official was arrested in February 2019 in Germany together with his associate, and an indictment was filed against both defendants in October 2019. This was followed in August 2020 by the start of the trials – the first worldwide to address widespread and systematic torture committed by the Syrian regime.

Eurojust's role: In cooperation with national investigators and prosecutors working on the case, a German-French JIT was set up with the support of Eurojust and the Genocide Network in 2018. Eurojust and the Genocide Network supported the investigations and prosecution by providing long-term analytical assistance and the organisation of regular coordination meetings to enable swift judicial cooperation between the German and French authorities.