The News
The US Department of Justice charged two former Syrian Air Force intelligence officials with committing war crimes against US citizens and others during the Syrian civil war. The indictment, filed in November, was unsealed late on Monday.
Ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s government “sought to terrify, intimidate, and repress any opposition, or perceived opposition, to the Regime,” the indictment states. The two named officials allegedly used torture methods like electrocution and burning to intimidate victims, according to the charges.
The indictment marks the first time that the US has brought charges against Assad officials for human rights abuses, Axios reported, and comes after the rebel forces that overthrew Assad’s regime vowed to pursue officials involved in torture.
The suspects named in the indictment remain at large but were tried in absentia earlier this year in France and convicted of crimes against humanity.