German court issues guilty verdict in first Syria torture trial

A German court sentenced a former member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's security services to four and half years in prison after finding him guilty of facilitating the torture of 30 prisoners, a Syrian lawyer said on Wednesday.

Eyad A., was found guilty of arresting at least 30 opposition activists after an anti-Assad demonstration in 2011 and sending them to an intelligence facility knowing they would be tortured.