Dutch Prosecutors Seek 30-Year Sentence Against Syrian Accused of Torture Under Assad

Dutch prosecutors are demanding a 30-year prison sentence against a Syrian man accused of torturing detainees while serving with an Assad-aligned militia group in 2013-2014.

The 57-year-old suspect, Rafik A., is accused of participating in torture operations while a member of the National Defence Forces (NDF), a paramilitary group that fought alongside Syria's Assad regime. The NDF was responsible for suppressing peaceful protests and arbitrarily detaining Syrian civilians during the country's conflict. Rafik A. fled to the Netherlands in 2021 and settled in Druten, Gelderland, where he was identified and investigated by Dutch authorities. The case is being prosecuted in the Netherlands under international law provisions allowing prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed abroad.