Spain court opens 1st European case against Syrian officials
MADRID - A Spanish National Court judge has ordered an investigation into the alleged role of nine Syrian officials in the disappearance and execution of a man in 2013, in the first criminal case accepted by a European court against President Bashar Assad's regime.
Investigative magistrate Eloy Velasco said Monday the nine could be charged with terrorism and forced disappearance.
The case is built around the 2013 arbitrary detention, disappearance, torture and execution of a truck driver in Damascus. The complaint was filed last month by the driver's sister, a Spanish national.
Velasco is investigating it under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecution of crimes outside of the country only if there is a Spanish victim. In Monday's acceptance of the case, Velasco considers the sister as the victim.
