| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syria arrests Assad-era officer who fled prison sentence in Austria, Lebanon hands over another for trial |
| 2026-08-20 |
| [IsraelTimes] Musab Abu Rukbah returned home after Vienna court sentenced him to 8 years in jail for torture, sexual assault of Assad critics while serving as head of Raqqa police investigations Syrian security forces have arrested a former Assad-era security officer who fled Austria after being sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing detainees and returned to his hometown in southern Syria, state news agency SANA said on Tuesday night. Lt. Col. Musab Abu Rukbah was arrested in the city of Nawa in Daraa province by internal security forces in coordination with the counter-terrorism department, SANA said, citing the security forces. Abu Rukbah was convicted by a Vienna court last month of bodily harm, aggravated coercion and sexual assault against detained opponents of former president Bashar al-Assad while he headed the police’s criminal investigations department in the northern city of Raqqa more than a decade ago. He had pleaded not guilty. Reuters reported on Friday that Abu Rukbah had left Austria while challenging his eight-year sentence on appeal, and arrived in Nawa in early August, where his family held a reception to celebrate his return. SANA said on Tuesday that Abu Rukbah had entered Syria illegally after fleeing Austria and that authorities had tracked him down in Nawa. He had been referred to the relevant authorities to complete legal procedures ahead of prosecution, it said. It was not immediately clear what charges Abu Rukbah could face in Syria or whether Austria had requested his arrest or extradition. A spokesperson for the Austrian court that convicted him told Reuters at the time that Abu Rukbah had not been considered a flight risk before his trial because he had lived in Austria since 2014 and was seeking asylum there with his family. He was not held in custody during the trial or subjected to other restrictions, and his departure from Austria did not breach Austrian laws or court orders while the appeals process remained underway, the spokesperson said. Lebanon to hand over Assad-era general to Syria after war crimes questioning [IsraelTimes] Lebanon’s judicial authorities have decided to hand over a former senior Syrian military officer under ousted president Bashar al-Assad to Damascus after questioning him over crimes he allegedly committed during the country’s conflict, officials say. Maj. Gen. Adel Issa will be the first military officer to be handed over by Lebanon since Assad’s fall in late 2024. He is expected to stand trial in his home country. There are no immediate details on the alleged crimes. The decision comes days after a vote in parliament that made Lebanon the first Arab country to abolish the death penalty, a step that will become formal once it is published in the Lebanese Official Gazette. The judicial officials say Issa is being handed over to Syria in accordance with a 1951 agreement between the countries that calls for handing over suspected criminals. Issa is taken by members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, who will drive him to a border crossing and hand him over to Syrian authorities, two judicial and two security officials say. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Issa was questioned last week by judge Ahmad Rami Hajj, Lebanon’s public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, over alleged crimes he had committed in Syria’s eastern province of Deir Ezzor and the northern province of Raqqa during Syria’s civil war that broke out in 2011. The judicial officials tell The Associated Press that Issa denied all the charges against him, saying he was a military officer carrying out orders. The Syrian embassy in Beirut sent Issa’s charge sheet to Lebanese judicial authorities earlier this month, the officials say. Related: Adel Issa 10/11/2007 IDF, Shin Bet arrest Hamas leader in Bethlehem Adel Issa 10/11/2007 Nablus: Disguised troops kill gunman Related: Musab Abu Rukbah 06/02/2026 Two Syrian former officials deny civil war torture charges as trial opens in Austria Musab Abu Rukbah 11/14/2025 Mossad arranged Austrian asylum for Syrian double agent accused of torture – report |
| Posted by:trailing wife |