Today, another trial concerning international crimes committed in Syria under the Assad regime is set to begin. For the first time in Austria, Khalid Al Halabi and Mussab Abou Rokbh, former Syrian government intelligence officers, are standing trial for their alleged commission of crimes such as torture and sexualized violence in detention facilities in Raqqa, Syria. Al Halabi is the highest-ranking former Syrian government official arrested in Europe to date.
Austrian prosecutors were first informed in early 2016 that Al Halabi — the former head of the General Intelligence Directorate branch in Raqqa — was residing in Austria. Authorities were also made aware of his alleged involvement in torture and other serious human rights abuses against detainees in Raqqa province before his later defection and flight to France. It remains unclear how Al Halabi subsequently reached Austria, allegedly with the assistance of Mossad and the Austrian intelligence services.
Al Halabi and Abou Rokbh were indicted by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office in November 2025 after years of delay within the Austrian justice system. The indictment was achieved largely thanks to the tireless efforts of Syrian lawyers, survivors, and civil society organisations as well as other war crimes units and investigators. Among various civil society organisations, ECCHR supported the investigation over the past years and ensured the participation of victims through its local cooperation lawyer Nadja Lorenz.
ECCHR welcomes the opening of the trial as an essential part of delivering justice to survivors of these crimes. „Given the still precarious situation in Syria, trials based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, such as the Halabi trial in Vienna, are of great importance for addressing crimes committed by the Syrian state,“ says Wolfgang Kaleck, general secretary of the ECCHR.
In Damascus, the first trial against a former high-ranking regime official, Atef Najib, began in April — a first step toward justice for millions of Syrians, including survivors and relatives of victims of the horrific crimes committed under the Assad regime. Yet, given the lack of a clearly established legal framework and comprehensive transitional justice legislation, these efforts are still in an early and fragile stage. In this context, transitional justice in Syria can build on the precedents and evidence established through universal jurisdiction proceedings in third countries across Europe.
The trial is taking place in Vienna over the coming weeks.
