In brief
In a landmark case, an Austrian court found former Syrian intelligence chief Khaled al‑H. guilty of torture and sexual abuse after the 2011‑2013 uprising. Alongside ex‑police chief Moussab Abou R., both were sentenced to eight years in prison. The trial exposed harrowing accounts of strip‑teeth, electric shock and water‑impalement inflicted on protestors in Raqqa. The defendants, originally granted asylum in Austria, were alleged to have been part of an intelligence cooperation with Israel’s Mossad. Their conviction marks a rare use of European jurisdiction over war‑crime allegations tied to the Assad regime.
In a verdict read on 6 July 2026, the Regional Vienna Court of Austria convicted Khaled al‑H. – former General Intelligence Directorate head in Raqqa – of torture and sexual abuse against political opponents of the late Syrian president Bashar al‑Assad.
Al‑H., who served from 2011 until 2013 when the city was captured by the Free Syrian Army, was joined in the indictment by Moussab Abou R., the former Raqqa police chief. Both men were found guilty of ordering or allowing the mistreatment of protestors, including systematic strip‑teeth, electric shocks and severe bodily harm. Prosecutors said the abuses were designed to suppress the uprising and intimidate the local population.
Victims who testified at the trial described being beaten, subjected to wet‑and‑hot water dousing and even struck on the soles of their feet with electric cables. Many suffered lasting mental trauma from the episodes.
The court handed each defendant a sentence of eight years in prison. Both men denied the charges, with al‑H. claiming he never ordered torture and citing his status as a Druze minority member who felt obliged to follow orders. His claim that the torture was a partisan instrument was countered by prosecution evidence stating that the actions aimed to crack down on protests.
The convictions are significant because Austria’s judiciary is rare in taking jurisdiction over crimes committed by Assad’s state actors. The defendants were granted asylum in Austria in 2015, and Austrian authorities reportedly facilitated their capture as part of an intelligence operation codenamed “Operation White Milk” in cooperation with Israeli Mossad.
The former Austrian intelligence head Martin Weiss has been sanctioned and is now on the run in Dubai. He was linked to former Austrian spy Jan Marsalek, suspected of involvement in the trials.
Both al‑H. and Abou R. retain their right to appeal the verdicts. The case underscores the international community’s growing willingness to hold regional officials accountable for war‑time atrocities.
