At 8 April 8 2026, at The Hague District Court the substantive hearing will start of the case against a Syrian man accused of very serious crimes committed against Syrian civilians. It concerns torture and crimes against humanity, namely torture, sexual violence, and rape. It is the first time that someone in the Netherlands has been accused of crimes against humanity regarding sexual violence.
The Syrian, who was 55 at the time, was arrested in the Dutch town of Druten on 8 December 2023. Based on an investigation by the war crimes unit (TIM) of the Dutch National Police (LO), the man is suspected of being head of the interrogation department of the National Defence Force (NDF) in Salamiyah, Syria, in 2013 and 2014. The NDF is a paramilitary group consisting of many local pro-regime militias fighting on the side of the Syrian regime. The man is suspected of having committed torture and crimes against humanity—torture, sexual violence, and rape—in the course of his duties.
Crimes against humanity are crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population. The suspect arrived in the Netherlands in July 2021 and was granted temporary asylum. In 2022, he settled in Druten with his family. The war crimes unit tracked him down shortly after his arrival in the Netherlands, following a tip that a person with a similar name had served as a chief interrogator at the local NDF branch in Salamiyah and that this man was now living in the Netherlands.
The indictment lists a total of 24 criminal offenses committed against 9 victims. The hearing will take place on 8, 9, 13, 14, 21, 22, and 23 April, and 12 and 26 May, 2026, at 9.00 AM at the District Court in The Hague. The hearing can also be followed via a video link in Dutch, Arabic, and English.
The prosecution's closing arguments and sentencing demands are expected to be delivered on 21 April, and the court will deliver the verdict in this case on 9 June 2026 at 1:00 PM.
For more information and to register for the video link: