A local court in the Netherlands has sentenced a Syrian national to 26 years in prison for crimes against humanity, including torturing and raping detainees held by forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad during the country’s civil war.The man, identified only as Rafiq Al-Q, under Dutch privacy regulations, was found guilty by The Hague Court of committing violations between 2013 and 2014 while working as an investigator for the pro-Assad National Defense Forces in the Syrian city of Salamiyah.According to the court, evidence showed that the 58-year-old man was involved in the torture of prisoners held in detention centres, including beatings, electric shocks and hanging detainees upside down.
The judges also found him guilty of committing acts of sexual violence against several victims.When issuing the ruling, the court said that the accused subjected the detainees to severe physical and psychological suffering.The court said in its summary of its ruling: “The accused is also guilty of sexually assaulting several victims. He raped one of them.” “The defendant repeatedly subjected the victims to conditions of extreme fear, threat, pain, despair and helplessness.
During the court hearings, the victims gave convincing testimony about the impact this had on them and the consequences they continue to suffer to this day.”The president of the court, Wim Van Hattum, said that the court proved that Rafiq Al-Q. He either committed the crimes himself or ordered others to carry them out.“The suspect engaged in the torture, rape or other forms of sexual assault of eight victims in this case, either by committing the acts himself or by ordering others to do so,” Van Hattum said while reading the sentencing summary.Rafiq Al-Qadeer denied all accusations during the trial, insisting that he was not involved in the abuses and accusing witnesses of lying and conspiring against him. He appeared before the court wearing a striped shirt and sat next to his lawyer, but he did not show any clear reaction when the verdict was announced. The court acquitted him of several charges for which it did not find sufficient evidence.First Dutch conviction for atrocities under AssadThis ruling represents the first conviction in the Netherlands for atrocities committed by forces allied with the Assad government in Syria.
This is also the first time that a Dutch court has convicted someone of committing acts of sexual violence as a crime against humanity.The case was brought under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to try suspects of serious international crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, even if those crimes were committed abroad.Rafiq Alq arrived in the Netherlands as an asylum seeker in 2021 and was living in the town of Druten before he was arrested in 2023.Prosecutors and defense have 14 days to appeal the ruling.The ruling is part of a broader international effort to hold individuals accountable for crimes committed during the civil war in Syria and under Assad’s rule.Since Assad was ousted from power in December 2024 and fled to Russia, courts across Europe have pursued cases involving former Syrian officials and government supporters accused of torture, murder, and other abuses.Last year, a German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life imprisonment on charges of torture and war crimes committed in Syria, while in 2024 a court in Paris sentenced three senior Syrian officials in absentia to life imprisonment on charges of complicity in war crimes.Syria itself also began pursuing cases against former regime officials. In April, the first public trial of former Assad-era officials began in Damascus, with former Brigadier General Atef Najib facing charges related to alleged crimes against the Syrian people.Human rights groups and former detainees have long documented widespread torture, sexual violence, brutality, and mass executions inside detention centers run by the Assad government during the civil war.