For victims, Syria torture trial is 1st step toward justice

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Victims of torture in Syria and human rights activists say they hope the upcoming verdict in a landmark trial will be a first step toward justice for countless Syrians who suffered abuse in the country’s long-running conflict. A court in the German city of Koblenz is scheduled to deliver its ruling Thursday in the trial of former Syrian secret police officer Anwar Raslan. He is accused of crimes against humanity for overseeing the abuse of detainees at a jail near Damascus a decade ago. Raslan could face life in prison if convicted. His lawyers asked the court last week to acquit their client. They claimed that he never personally tortured anybody and that he defected in late 2012.