A district court in the Netherlands has sentenced a Syrian national to 26 years in prison for crimes against humanity, including torturing and raping detainees held by forces loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad during the country’s civil war.The man, identified only as Rafiq al-Q under Dutch secrecy rules, was convicted by the District Court of The Hague of abuses committed between 2013 and 2014 while serving as an interrogator for the pro-Assad National Defense Forces (NDF) in the Syrian city of Salamiyah.According to the court, evidence showed that the 58-year-old man was involved in torturing prisoners held in detention centres, including beatings, electric shocks and hanging detainees upside down. Judges also found him guilty of sexual violence against multiple victims.While delivering the verdict, the court said that the accused had caused severe physical and psychological pain to the prisoners.“The defendant was also guilty of sexually abusing multiple victims. He raped one of them,” the court said in a summary of its decision, Reuters reports. It said, “The defendant repeatedly subjected the victims to situations of extreme fear, threats, pain, despair, and powerlessness. During the court hearing, the victims gave compelling testimony about the impact it had on them and the consequences they suffer to this day.”Presiding Judge Wim van Hattam said the court had established that Rafik al Q either committed the crimes himself or instructed others to commit them.“The suspect was involved in the torture, rape or other sexual exploitation of the eight victims in this case, either by committing the acts himself or by ordering others to do so,” Van Hattum said, reading a summary of the verdict.Rafik Al Q denied all allegations during the trial, insisting he had no involvement in the abuse and accusing witnesses of lying and conspiring against him. He appeared in court wearing a striped shirt and sat beside his lawyer, but made no visible reaction when the sentence was announced. The court acquitted him of several charges for which it found insufficient evidence.First Dutch conviction over Assad-era atrocitiesThe verdict marks the first conviction in the Netherlands for atrocities committed in Syria by forces aligned with the Assad government. This is the first time a Dutch court has convicted someone of sexual violence as a crime against humanity.The case was brought under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to prosecute suspects for serious international crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, even if those crimes were committed abroad.Rafiq al-Q arrived in the Netherlands as an asylum seeker in 2021 and was living in the city of Drutten before being arrested in 2023.Both prosecutors and the defense have 14 days to appeal the verdict.The verdict is part of a broader international effort to hold individuals accountable for crimes committed during the Syrian civil war and under Assad’s rule.Since Assad was ousted from power in December 2024 and fled to Russia, courts across Europe have heard cases involving former Syrian officials and government supporters accused of torture, murder and other abuses.Last year, a German court sentenced a Syrian doctor to life in prison for torture and war crimes in Syria, while in 2024 a Paris court sentenced three senior Syrian officials to life in prison in absentia for involvement in war crimes.Syria has also begun prosecuting cases against former regime officials. In April, the first public trial of former Assad-era officials began in Damascus, with former Brigadier General Atef Najib facing charges related to alleged crimes against the Syrian people.Human rights groups and former detainees have long documented widespread torture, sexual violence, brutality and mass executions inside detention centers run by the Assad government during the civil war.