US News: Human rights group: Now also translation for Syrian listeners in the torture process
© Thomas Lohnes In the Koblenz trial of murder and torture by the Syrian state, according to the human rights organization ECCHR accredited Syrian journalists, it must be made possible to follow the proceedings in Arabic.
In the Koblenz trial of murder and torture by the Syrian state, according to the Berlin human rights organization European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), accredited Syrian journalists must be able to follow the proceedings in Arabic. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe ordered this on Tuesday with an interim order, the ECCHR announced on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Federal Constitutional Court confirmed the existence of a decision on request, but initially gave no information about its content. The trial before the Koblenz Higher Regional Court is the world’s first trial against alleged henchmen of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
According to ECCHR information, the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision on Tuesday followed the urgent motion on a constitutional complaint that the Syrian journalist Mansour al Omari and a representative of the human rights organization Syria Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC) had submitted on August 13.
In this context, ECCHR pointed out that Syrian media representatives in the Koblenz trial with German as the court language could not understand most of what was said. Although every word is interpreted for the accused, the court has so far denied the public access to this simultaneous translation.
The trial of the two alleged former Syrian secret service agents Anwar R. and Eyad A. began on April 23 before the Koblenz Senate. The prosecution accuses the main suspect R., among other things, of 58 times murder, A. has to answer for aiding and abetting. According to the prosecution,
R. was the military superior of the infamous Al-Khatib prison in Damascus. Under his authority, between April 2011 and September 2012, at least 4,000 detainees were reportedly tortured with beatings, kicks and electric shocks while they were in custody.