German government issues warning to Assad’s henchmen

Berlin (dpa) - Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned any supporters in Germany of the deposed Syrian el-Assad ruling family to keep a low profile. “If any of Assad’s torturers is thinking of fleeing to Germany, to them I will make one thing clear: we will use the full force of the law to hold all the regime’s henchmen to account for their despicable crimes,” the Foreign Minister said in an interview. In April 2020 Germany began the world’s first criminal proceedings into state torture in Syria against two former members of the country’s secret service. One of the defendants was sentenced to life in prison, while the other received a sentence of several years imprisonment. Following the victory of the rebel alliance in Syria, the deposed dictator Bashar el-Assad fled to Russia with his family. Tens of thousands of people were tortured and murdered under his rule.  

Meanwhile, the senior German diplomat Michael Ohnmacht has led initial talks on behalf of the EU with representatives of the new rulers in Syria. Ohnmacht has led the EU delegation to Syria since September. However, for security reasons, the delegation continues to conduct the majority of its work in Lebanon and Brussels. As a representative of the German Foreign Office, Ohnmacht has previously served as ambassador to Libya, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, amongst other roles.