2 EX-ASSAD REGIME OFFICIALS IN AUSTRIA CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT, TORTURE

Sat 15 November 2025:

Austrian authorities have charged two former officials from Syria’s ousted Assad regime with alleged serious crimes against civilians in detention, local media reported Wednesday.

The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against two former members of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, public broadcaster ORF reported.

The former brigadier general of the intelligence service and the former lieutenant colonel of the local police in the Syrian city of Raqqa, both of whom have lived in Austria since 2015, are accused of serious crimes against civilians in detention, such as grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, and torture.

The men are accused of committing the crimes to “suppress the protest movement against the regime at the time and intimidate the population.”

The mistreatment was not only carried out by others under their command, but they are also alleged to have personally “perpetrated acts of violence against detainees,” according to the report.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

So far, 21 victims have been identified who, “due to the injuries they suffered, some with severe long-term consequences,” have joined the proceedings.

According to The New York Times, Brigadier General Khaled al-Halabi, 62, fled Syria in 2013 with the assistance of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad. Investigators said al- Halabi acted as a double agent for the Mossad. He was covertly transported through Europe by car with the help of Austrian intelligence officers, who later faced criminal charges for abuse of office

Since the removal of the Assad regime in December 2024, numerous mass burial sites have been uncovered across Syria, the largest of which was near Damascus.

Syrian citizens say the fall of Assad’s regime marked the end of a decades-long era of fear, with its prisons having become nightmares of torture, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearances.

The newly established Syrian government has repeatedly stated that holding accountable those responsible for crimes under the previous regime will remain a priority.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in September, President Ahmad al‑Sharaa pledged to deliver “justice from every person whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents.”

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Sharaa’s new transitional administration was formed in January.

-MEMO

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22