Facts
Between late April 2011 and mid- April 2012, Fahad A. allegedly worked as a guard at Branch 251 (al- Khatib branch), a detention facility run by Syrian General Intelligence in Damascus. He reportedly took part in over 100 interrogations involving severe abuse, including electric shocks and beatings with cables, and carried out additional torture at night. At least 70 detainees allegedly died as a result of these abuses and the inhumane detention conditions.
Previously, two individuals responsible for crimes committed at the same facility were convicted by the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz: the former head of the investigation unit at the al-Khatib branch, Anwar Raslan, and Eyad al-Gharib, a member of a sub-unit of the investigating division.
Since 2021, Fahad A. has reportedly been living in Germany.
Procedure
On 19 May 2025, the Federal Court of Justice issued an arrest warrant against Fahad A. for the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and deprivation of liberty.
On 27 May 2025, Fahad A. was arrested. On 10 December 2025, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office charged him with the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and deprivation of liberty as well as with murder.
The trial of Fahad A. started on 27 April 2026.