A German court has sentenced Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian colonel, to life in prison for committing crimes against humanity such as supervising the “systematic and brutal torture” of more than 4,000 people at the Al-Khatib prison in Damascus between April 2011 and September 2012, resulting in the deaths of at least 58 people. The landmark ruling marked the first time a Syrian senior officer has been convicted in the first-ever case involving state-sponsored torture and crimes against humanity. It is the first step towards justice for countless Syrians who suffered and continue to suffer abuse at the hands of the Syrian regime. 📷 Photo description: Syrian defendant Anwar Raslan, 57, at court in Koblenz, western Germany on April 23, 2020. According to court's ruling the face of the defendant must be made unrecognizable. #Syria #MiddleEast #CrimesAgainstHumanity #Justice #HumanRights #MiddleEastMatters