Verdict Expected in Vienna Torture Trial Against Two Syrian Intelligence Officials

Hearings were held on a total of 13 trial days. While the defendants rejected the charges brought against them, several affected persons who had traveled specially from abroad gave powerful testimony of the violent experiences they had endured. The trial relies on the universal jurisdiction principle, which enables the prosecution of the most serious international crimes regardless of the location where they were committed.

According to information from the proceedings, Khaled Al-Halabi headed the General Intelligence Directorate in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa during the protests against the regime. He had deserted to the rebels only shortly before the fall of the city in 2013, according to a statement that played a role in the trial. According to the case files, both defendants have been in Austria since at least 2015.

Intelligence Background of the First Defendant

The case takes on a particular dimension due to the background of the first defendant: as emerged during the trial, he was smuggled into Austria by the Israeli intelligence service and subsequently hidden and provided for by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BVT). These circumstances may still be relevant to the criminal-law assessment, in particular to potential questions concerning the admissibility of statements.

The trial is not the first attempt to hold representatives of the Syrian regime legally accountable in Europe. Back in 2021, the Koblenz Higher Regional Court had conducted the world's first criminal trial against officials of the Assad regime for state torture and crimes against humanity. In Koblenz, however, a colonel stood trial — someone in a considerably lower position; likewise, it could not be proven that he had personally exercised violence or been directly involved in abuses.

Role of the ECCHR and International Context

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), founded by international law expert Wolfgang Kaleck, also participated in the Vienna proceedings. The organization located and accompanied severely traumatized torture victims from Syria as witnesses, among other things. Most recently, Kaleck published his book "Die Stärke des Rechts vs. Das Recht des Stärkeren", a plea for international law and human rights.

Kaleck emphasizes in this context: "Die systematische Folter gehörte zur DNA des alten Regimes." Regarding international criminal justice, he says: "Die internationale Strafjustiz ist ein Flickenteppich. Es ist leider nicht so, dass jedes Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit strafrechtlich verfolgt werden kann." At the same time, he makes clear: "Straflosigkeit hinzunehmen ist keine Option."

The prosecution authority in Austria faces a difficult balancing act. In some domestic proceedings, the public prosecutor's office falls back on offenses such as bodily harm or coercion rather than bringing charges of crimes against humanity. The background is that Austrian criminal law was only adapted accordingly in 2014 to facilitate the prosecution of core international crimes. Kaleck also points out that "Österreich hat immerhin 2014 nachgezogen".

Legal Classification and Jurisdiction

That torture in Syria did not begin with the civil war but was part of the system is also part of the prosecution's arguments. It was, for instance, "spätestens seit dem Amtsantritt von Baschar al-Assad allgemein bekannt war, dass es um ein Folterregime handelt". This statement was also openly made before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court in 2021.

The geopolitical situation remains a crucial factor for coming to terms with the crimes. The International Criminal Court in The Hague was unable to act in Syria due to the lack of a mandate from the UN Security Council. At the same time, initial trials against representatives of the old regime have begun in Syria — although there is currently no set of procedural rules in place there that would guarantee fair proceedings.

The humanitarian consequences of the Syrian conflict are severe. Millions of Syrians — including many well-educated individuals — have fled abroad. The country has been largely destroyed; infrastructure and supplies function only to a limited extent. Many of the survivors who testify as witnesses in European proceedings carry the weight of their memories.

Humanitarian Dimension and Outlook

Observers in this context also point to the debate surrounding the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, such as "die Aussage von Franz Beckenbauer, der vor der Fußball-WM in Katar erklärte, er habe nichts von Zwangsarbeit mitbekommen". Such voices are emblematic of the looking-away that prosecutors in Europe are now seeking to correct — piece by piece.

Monday's verdict is being awaited with anticipation, as it is one of the first attempts in Austria to hold high-ranking Syrian intelligence officials accountable for torture and crimes against humanity. Should the court follow the core of the prosecution's case, this would have a signaling effect for further proceedings in Europe.

At the same time, observers make clear that each individual proceeding can only be one piece of the mosaic. Universal criminal prosecution cannot come to terms with all the crimes committed, but it demonstrates that the international community is willing to punish crimes against humanity, at least in individual cases. Kaleck's image of the "Flickenteppich" makes clear how patchy the system still is.

Should the first defendant, Khaled Al-Halabi — who, after his desertion, reached Austria via the Israeli intelligence service and was provided for by the BVT — now himself be convicted, this also casts a spotlight on the role of European intelligence services in dealing with defectors from the Syrian regime. The tension between security-policy interests and criminal accountability may well outlast the verdict.