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.
The case is among the most prominent judicial files linked to violations committed in Syria now being examined by European courts.
Vienna prosecutors said in a statement that the two defendants, a former brigadier general in Syrian intelligence and a former head of the local criminal investigation office with the rank of lieutenant colonel, are accused of “issuing orders to mistreat members of the protest movement or failing to object to those practices on several occasions.”
The charges relate to acts allegedly committed against civilians detained in Raqqa Governorate between 2011 and 2013, during the crackdown that targeted protests against former Syrian regime president Bashar al-Assad.
Austrian prosecutors did not disclose the defendants’ names in line with judicial procedures followed before verdicts are issued, but Austrian media reported that one of them is former Syrian intelligence brigadier general Khaled Al-Halabi, while the Austrian Press Agency said he has been held in pretrial detention since late 2024.
The New York Times published Al-Halabi’s name in November 2025 and reported that his co-defendant in the case is former lieutenant colonel Musab Abu Rukbah, citing statements by his lawyer.
Charges Related to Torture of 21 Detainees
According to the prosecutors’ statement, 21 people detained in prisons affiliated with the former Syrian regime were subjected to torture and ill-treatment as part of a campaign targeting the civilian protest movement that erupted in Syria in 2011.
The prosecution added that the abuses attributed to the two defendants were carried out based on orders issued by the central government and the Syrian National Security apparatus at the time, as part of a broad policy of repression that targeted opponents, activists, and civilians.
The former brigadier general faces charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion, and causing serious bodily harm, crimes that could carry a sentence of up to ten years in prison under Austrian law.
The former lieutenant colonel also faces similar charges related to aggravated coercion, sexual coercion, and causing serious bodily harm, 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.
Prosecutors explained that the United Nations Convention against Torture and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court require judicial authorities to take the necessary measures when sufficient evidence is available that such crimes were committed.
Hearings to Continue Until End of June
The Vienna court has jurisdiction over the case because the two defendants have lived in Austria for years, after obtaining residency rights following asylum applications they submitted in 2015.
The trial sessions are scheduled to continue over 13 days until June 30, with expectations that several victims and witnesses living in Syria and various European countries will testify.
The case is among those closely followed by Syrian and international rights organizations tracking judicial accountability for those involved in violations committed during the Syrian conflict.
When Khaled Al-Halabi was previously indicted, activists and rights defenders described him as the highest-ranking former Syrian security official present in Europe to face direct charges linked to human rights violations.
Calls to Add Crimes Against Humanity Charges
Syrian lawyer Anwar al-Bunni, who is based in Germany, said the trial represents an important step in the path toward justice, but expressed surprise that charges related to crimes against humanity were not brought.
Al-Bunni, who previously spent years in Syrian prisons, said the case carries particular importance given the level of responsibility one of the defendants held within the Syrian security institution.
The trial comes as part of a series of European judicial proceedings based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to prosecute perpetrators of certain serious international crimes even if they were committed outside the country’s territory.
Austrian law allows local courts to examine certain crimes committed abroad when they relate to international crimes or grave human rights violations.
Earlier Controversy Over Al-Halabi’s Arrival in Austria
The trial has renewed attention on the controversy surrounding Khaled Al-Halabi’s arrival in Austria and his residence there for years.
Austrian prosecutors had previously investigated senior Austrian security officials on suspicion of helping Al-Halabi obtain protection inside the country, but the judiciary acquitted them in 2023 due to insufficient evidence.
According to judicial authorities and Austrian media, the investigations addressed an agreement believed to have been concluded in May 2015 to facilitate Al-Halabi’s transfer to Austria.
Media reports also pointed to a possible role by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in removing him from France and transferring him to Austrian territory.
In 2016, the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, which works to collect evidence related to war crimes and grave violations, informed Austrian authorities of allegations linked to Al-Halabi’s role in torture and abuses during his security work in Syria.
Tatiana Urdaneta Wittek, the lawyer at the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International who represents 18 of the 21 alleged victims in the case, said the trial carries particular importance in affirming that Austria should not become a haven for people accused of committing war crimes or grave human rights violations.
Previous Trials
The trial comes amid expanding judicial prosecutions linked to violations committed in Syria since 2011. In late April, the French judiciary charged a Syrian resident in France with complicity in crimes against humanity over acts he is suspected of committing during his service in the former regime’s forces.The
The French judiciary has also previously issued international arrest warrants against Bashar al-Assad related to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including chemical attacks and the bombing of civilian areas.
Britain witnessed in March the first trial of its kind of a former Syrian Air Force Intelligence officer on charges linked to crimes against humanity, while a US court issued a default judgment holding the former Syrian regime responsible for the abduction, torture, and killing of Syrian-American doctor Majd Kamalmaz, in signs that judicial accountability tracks outside Syria are expanding despite the faltering of traditional international mechanisms.
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