How a German court is trying to bring Syrian war criminals to justice
Because Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, victims of torture and abuse by the Syrian government are seeking justice in Germany and other countries.
Day 36 is seared into Yazan Awad’s memory. Locked away inside the prison at the al-Mezzeh military airport in the Syrian capital of Damascus, Awad hung naked and blindfolded. Prison guards that day had suspended him from the ceiling by his wrists, a torture technique he had yet to experience.
As the guards raped an unidentified woman they claimed was his mother, Awaz was made to listen to her screams. Later, when he refused to give up information, he says they sexually assaulted him using a rifle.
His hell ended after 12 hours, when Awad agreed to kiss the boots of one of his tormentors.
Jailed in 2011 for his involvement in Syria’s anti-government protests, Awad would undergo extreme torture, both physical and psychological, during his remaining months in prison. To distract himself during the sessions, he tried to commit his interrogator’s face to memory.
