Syria's rebels hail ex-officer's conviction, want justice to go higher

FILE PHOTO: Anwar R, a former Syrian officer of Syrian President Bashar el-Assad's intelligence agency arrives at the higher regional court of Koblenz before the verdict in his trial for crimes against humanity, including torture and killing in Koblenz, Germany, January 13, 2022. Thomas Frey/Pool via REUTERS

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebel and opposition groups said Germany's conviction of a former Syrian intelligence officer for crimes against humanity this week was welcome but was only a step towards holding to account President Bashar al-Assad and his top aides.

The conviction nL1N2TT0MJ of Anwar Raslan, who defected to Syria's opposition in 2012 before securing asylum in Germany, marked a landmark ruling related to state-backed torture committed during Syria's decade-long civil war.