{"id":38333,"date":"2026-04-23T06:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T09:31:09","slug":"dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Wednesday demanded a 30-year prison sentence for a Syrian man accused of torturing and raping prisoners when he was a member of a militia that backed the government of former president Bashar al-Assad.<br \/>Prosecutors have charged 58-year-old Rafik A., whose last name is withheld by the Dutch court, with 25 counts including torture, sexual violence and rape as crimes against humanity against nine people in 2013 and 2014.<br \/>Rafik A. has repeatedly denied any involvement with the alleged crimes. The case is the first in the Netherlands to deal with alleged atrocity crimes in Syria committed by pro-government forces. It is also the first time Dutch prosecutors have charged sexual violence as a crime against humanity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Wednesday demanded a 30-year prison sentence for a Syrian man accused of torturing and raping prisoners when he was a member of a militia that backed the government of former president Bashar al-Assad.Prosecutors have charged 58-year-old Rafik A., whose last name is withheld by the Dutch court, with 25 counts [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Wednesday demanded a 30-year prison sentence for a Syrian man accused of torturing and raping prisoners when he was a member of a militia that backed the government of former president Bashar al-Assad.Prosecutors have charged 58-year-old Rafik A., whose last name is withheld by the Dutch court, with 25 counts [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\"},\"headline\":\"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":127,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/23\\\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"description\":\"Metro Plus\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":169,\"caption\":\"Metro Plus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\",\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Metro Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/author\\\/metroadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus","og_description":"Prosecutors in the Netherlands on Wednesday demanded a 30-year prison sentence for a Syrian man accused of torturing and raping prisoners when he was a member of a militia that backed the government of former president Bashar al-Assad.Prosecutors have charged 58-year-old Rafik A., whose last name is withheld by the Dutch court, with 25 counts [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/","og_site_name":"Metro Plus","article_published_time":"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00","author":"Metro Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Metro Admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/"},"author":{"name":"Metro Admin","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895"},"headline":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer","datePublished":"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/"},"wordCount":127,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/","name":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer - Metro Plus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-22T22:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-23T09:31:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/04\/23\/dutch-prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-for-alleged-syrian-torturer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dutch prosecutors seek 30-year sentence for alleged Syrian torturer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","name":"Metro Plus","description":"Metro Plus","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization","name":"Metro Plus","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","width":240,"height":169,"caption":"Metro Plus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895","name":"Metro Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Metro Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/author\/metroadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38333\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}