(NL Times) A 55-year-old Syrian man was arrested in Druten in the province of Gelderland on Friday on suspicion of crimes committed in Syria, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) reported. He is notably suspected of sexual violence and torture as crimes against humanity.
“It is the first time that someone in the Netherlands has been accused of such a serious crime,” the OM wrote.
The man is suspected of having been the head of the interrogation department of the pro-government militia National Defense Forces (NDF) in the town of Salamiyah in Syria between 2013 and 2014. This paramilitary group organized by the Syrian government during the Syrian Civil War serves as a part-time volunteer reserve component of the Syrian army.
