A former Syrian intelligence chief in the city of Raqqa has been found guilty of torturing and sexually abusing opponents of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a court in Vienna, Austria.

European Jurisdiction Over Syrian Crimes

A second Syrian official, the former police chief in Raqqa, was also convicted for abuses against political opponents.

The Vienna trial was a rare instance of a European country asserting jurisdiction for crimes committed by agents of Assad’s government.

The former intelligence chief, identified only as Khaled al-H. under Austrian privacy rules, led Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate in Raqqa from 2011 until 2013 when the Free Syrian Army captured the city. He fled Raqqa during that time.

Khaled al-H., a member of the Druze ethno-religious minority, was found guilty of torture. He and the second defendant, Moussab Abou R., were both convicted of sexual coercion, aggravated coercion, and inflicting serious bodily harm.

Conviction and Sentences

Both men have received eight-year prison sentences. Prosecutors stated the men ordered or failed to stop the abuse of anti-government protestors in Raqqa on multiple occasions.

Both defendants denied the charges. Khaled al-H. claimed he had not ordered or witnessed any torture at his workplace and argued that as a member of the Druze minority, he was forced to follow orders.

Prosecutors maintained the torture was conducted to suppress the protest movement against the government and to intimidate the population.

Some of the victims, former detainees from Raqqa, traveled from across Europe and Syria to testify. The court heard accounts of being stripped naked, beaten, given electric shocks, or doused in hot and cold water.

One man described being hit on the soles of his feet with electric cables. Many victims reported lasting mental trauma after the abuse.

Asylum and Controversial Circumstances

The two Syrian officials applied for asylum in Austria in 2015. Media reports indicate Khaled al-H. was brought to Austria by the former domestic intelligence service, BVT, at the request of the Israeli spy agency Mossad as part of “Operation White Milk.”

The Austrian Press Agency reported the agreement was overseen by Martin Weiss, the former head of the BVT. Weiss is now in Dubai and is wanted for potential links to fugitive Austrian spy Jan Marsalek, who is believed to be in Moscow.

The two men have the right to appeal the verdicts.