Austria Puts Khaled Al-Halabi on Trial for Torture in Raqqa

Austria opened on Monday, June 1, the trial in Vienna of former Syrian intelligence brigadier general Khaled al-Halabi and a second defendant, Musab A., over charges tied to torture and other suspected crimes allegedly committed at the State Security branch in Raqqa between 2011 and 2013.

“Two former Syrian officers from the regime's security apparatuses appeared before a court in Austria on Monday, charged with torturing opponents of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Raqqa province between 2011 and 2013; one held the rank of a brigadier in the State Security Directorate and the other a major in the Political Security Directorate”

Al-Jazeera Net

The indictment described alleged abuses against political detainees held at the State Security branch—known as Branch 335—during the early years of the Syrian uprising, with methods including beatings with electric cables and suspending detainees by their wrists from the ceiling for extended periods.

Al-Jazeera Net

Enab Baladi said Vienna prosecutors accused the defendants of “issuing orders to mistreat members of the protest movement or failing to object to those practices on several occasions,” and it said the acts were allegedly committed against civilians detained in Raqqa Governorate between 2011 and 2013.

JusticeInfo.net reported that prosecutors said “21 individuals detained in prisons were tortured and abused as part of the crackdown on a civilian protest movement,” and it said the crimes were committed in Raqa between April 2011 and March 2013.

The trial is scheduled for 13 hearing days through June 30, with alleged victims expected to testify from Syria and Europe, while both defendants deny all charges and are presumed innocent under Austrian law.

The trial has drawn attention to how al-Halabi reached Austria, with The Syrian Observer saying he entered Austria in 2015 in a diplomatic vehicle coming from France and was reportedly received by members of Austria’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism (BVT).

The Syrian Observer also reported that Der Standard said the move was likely made at the request of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, and it said Mossad asked Austrian authorities to support Halabi after French officials began expressing suspicions about him.

Arab News

JusticeInfo.net quoted Austrian prosecutors’ statement that “On the orders of the central government and the National Security Bureau of the Syrian Arab Republic,” 21 detainees were tortured and abused as part of the crackdown on a civilian protest movement.

Anwar al-Bunni, a Syrian lawyer based in Germany, told AFP that he “don’t know really why they don’t charge him with crimes against humanity,” while also calling the trial “important.”

Tatiana Urdaneta Wittek of the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI) told APA there was a danger that Austria was providing shelter to perpetrators, saying “Austria must not become a refuge for war criminals.”

Prosecutors in Vienna said the case is among the most prominent judicial files linked to violations committed in Syria now being examined by European courts, and Enab Baladi said the charges relate to acts allegedly committed against civilians detained in Raqqa Governorate between 2011 and 2013.

“Austria Tries Assad Officers Over Raqqa Torture A court in Vienna, Austria, began on Monday, June 1, the trial of two former officials in the security apparatuses of the former Syrian regime, who face charges related to torturing opposition figures and committing abuses against civilians during the early years of the Syrian conflict”

Enab Baladi

Enab Baladi reported that the former brigadier general faces charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion, and causing serious bodily harm, with a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison under Austrian law, while the former lieutenant colonel faces similar charges with the same maximum penalty.

The indictment stated that judicial authorities dropped the application of the usual ten-year statute of limitations, citing Austria’s international obligations to prosecute serious crimes under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, according to Enab Baladi.

JusticeInfo.net said the 10-year statute of limitations that would ordinarily apply was lifted, and it said alleged victims residing in Syria and Europe are expected to testify before the Vienna court through June 30.

The Syrian Observer added that if convicted, Halabi would become the highest-ranking former Assad-era military official to stand trial in person in Europe for crimes attributed to the former Syrian regime, as the proceedings examine whether Halabi bears criminal responsibility for the alleged abuses at the Raqqa State Security branch.