Former general for Syria’s Assad pleads not guilty in torture trial

A former Syrian general has pleaded not guilty in an Austrian court to torturing opponents of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

Brigadier General Khaled al-Halabi made his plea as the trial opened on Monday in the Austrian capital, Vienna. Alongside police chief Lieutenant Colonel Musab Abu Rukba, al-Halabi faces charges including torture, aggravated coercion, sexual coercion and inflicting serious bodily harm. Both face up to 10 years in prison.

Former intelligence officer Al-Halabi, 63, has been in pre-trial detention since 2024. Along with 54-year-old Abu Rukbah, he is alleged to have committed the crimes in the Syrian city of Raqqa between April 2011 and March 2013.

Several similar cases relating to crimes committed during the Syrian civil war have been tried in other countries, including Germany, France and Sweden.

Prosecutors accused the pair of “having, on numerous occasions, ordered or failed to oppose the mistreatment of members of a protest movement”.

Halabi – a Druze, who fled Raqqa in 2013, just before ISIL overran the city – denied that torture happened while he was in command.

There were “no instructions” from the government to use violence, he told the court through a translator as masked, armed police stood guard.

He added his unit just took down the personal details of those held and did not conduct any investigations.