Former Syrian secret police convicted on torture charge

A former member of Syrian President Bashar Assad's secret police was convicted Wednesday by a German court of facilitating the torture of prisoners in a landmark ruling that human rights activists hope will set a precedent for other cases.

Eyad Al-Gharib was convicted of being an accessory to crimes against humanity and sentenced by the Koblenz state court to four and a half years in prison, the dpa news agency reported.

It was the first time that a court outside Syria has ruled in a case alleging Syrian government officials committed crimes against humanity.

German prosecutors invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction for serious crimes to bring the case, which involved victims and defendants who were in Germany.

Al-Gharib could have faced more than a decade behind bars, but judges took into account mitigating factors including his testimony in court.

The 44-year-old was accused of being part of a unit that arrested people following anti-government protests in the Syrian city of Douma and took them to a detention centre known as Al Khatib, or Branch 251, where they were tortured.

Al-Gharib went on trial last year with Anwar Raslan, a more senior Syrian ex-official who is accused of overseeing the abuse of detainees at the same jail near Damascus.

Raslan is accused of supervising the "systematic and brutal torture" of more than 4,000 prisoners between April 2011 and September 2012, resulting in the deaths of at least 58 people. A verdict in his case is expected later this year.

Evidence reviewed during the trial included photographs of thousands of alleged victims of torture by the Syrian government. The images were smuggled out of Syria by a police officer who goes by the pseudonym Caesar.

Syrian government officials did not testify during the 60-day trial.