Watershed moment in Germany: 2 former Syrian officials on trial today, charged with involvement in industrial scale torture, abuse & murder carried out inside President Assad's archipelago of detention facilities. After 9yrs of war, 100k+ Syrian detainees still unaccounted for.

Defendent "Anwar R" allegedly headed Damascus Branch 251's investigation's section, & he is accused of overseeing torture there between April 2011 & September 2012. Prosecutors allege that his subordinates tortured at least 4,000 people during interrogations at that facility.

Anwar R. also charged with 58 counts of murder, as well as rape & aggravated sexual assault. Second suspect, "Eyad A", allegedly a lower-ranking official in same agency. Charged with aiding & abetting crimes against humanity (arresting protesters, delivering them for torture.)

“This trial is a watershed moment for victims determined to see justice for the crimes they suffered in Syria,” says @balkeesjarrah. “Today’s proceedings should serve as an important reminder that more is needed to ensure accountability for the conflict’s horrific atrocities.”

Torture in these facilities has long been systematic. In our interviews, detainees from Branch 251 described being ordered to strip before beatings, or lying naked alongside cellmates in squalid cells. Also: extreme forms of sex abuse involving mechanical tools or sharp objects.

“These were moments when you didn’t recognize yourself as a human,” said one former detainee. “As I lay there, it wasn’t that I wanted to die. It was that I wished I’d never existed.”

"But the case also raises stark questions about limits of justice for Syria [...] Only 2 men are on trial in Germany, far from where their accusers say the crimes took place, while many more senior perpetrators, including Assad, remain in power." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/world/middleeast/syria-germany-war-crimes-trial.html @NYTBen.