THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Syrian man accused of crimes against humanity denied dozens of charges of torture and sexual violence in the opening of his trial in the Netherlands on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The 58-year-old, identified only as Rafiq al Q. due to Dutch privacy regulations, claimed he was being conspired against and refuted accusations of being a supporter of former Syrian Presdient Bashar Assad<\/a>. Prosecutors at the District Court of The Hague said he was a member of the pro-Assad National Defence Force and worked as the lead interrogator for the paramilitary group during Syria’s civil war.<\/p>\n The defendant accused the nine victims in the case, the witnesses and the Dutch police of lying. \u201cAll of them are conspiring against me,\u201d he said, speaking through an interpreter. <\/p>\n He told judges that he had worked as a civil servant in the central city of Salamiyah and denied involvement in torture. <\/p>\n During one exchange, the man attempted to submit evidence, waving a piece of paper at the presiding judge. His lawyer, Andr\u00e9 Seebregts, said it wasn\u2019t clear what the evidence was, to which the defendant replied: \u201cI don\u2019t tell my lawyer everything.\u201d<\/p>\n The trial is based on universal jurisdiction, a legal principle that allows suspects to be prosecuted for international offenses such as war crimes even if they are committed in another country. <\/p>\n The defendant claimed asylum in the Netherlands in 2021 and lived in the small town of Druten in the eastern part of the country when he was arrested in 2023. <\/p>\n The Netherlands has prosecuted several Syrians for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Syrian conflict. In 2024, a Dutch court convicted a former high-ranking member<\/a> of a pro-Syrian government militia of illegal detention and complicity in torture. Another Syrian man was convicted<\/a> in 2021 of war crimes for his role in the summary execution of a prisoner. <\/p>\n Syria\u2019s conflict started with peaceful protests against Assad\u2019s government in March 2011, but quickly morphed into a full-blown civil war, lasting nearly 14 years, after the government\u2019s brutal crackdown on protesters. <\/p>\n In 2024, insurgents led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa\u2019s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched to Damascus and removed Assad<\/a> from power. Since then, al-Sharaa, a former leader of al-Qaida\u2019s branch in Syria, has improved relations with Western countries and last year became the first Syrian head of state<\/a> to visit Washington since Syria\u2019s independence in 1946.<\/p>\n