Dutch police arrest Syrian interrogation chief for crimes against humanity

A 55-year-old Syrian man was arrested in Druten in the province of Gelderland on Friday on suspicion of crimes committed in Syria, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) reported. He is notably suspected of sexual violence and torture as crimes against humanity.

“It is the first time that someone in the Netherlands has been accused of such a serious crime,” the OM wrote.

The man is suspected of having been the head of the interrogation department of the pro-government militia National Defense Forces (NDF) in the town of Salamiyah in Syria between 2013 and 2014. This paramilitary group organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War serves as a part-time volunteer reserve component of the Syrian army.

According to the OM, the man is suspected of committing torture in an official position, other acts of torture, and sexual violence against civilians as crimes against humanity. Crimes against humanity are defined as crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population.

The suspect arrived in the Netherlands in July 2021 and received a temporary asylum permit. Last year, he settled in the town of Druten with his family.

The Dutch Police's International Crimes Team tracked him down shortly after his arrival in the Netherlands, following a tip that a person with a similar name had been the chief interrogator at the local branch of the NDF in Salamiyah, and that this man was now living in the Netherlands.

The suspect will be brought before the examining magistrate on Monday.