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Lebanon Receives Former Assad Army Officer as Officer Convicted of Torture Is Arrested After Returning to Syria
The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced today that Lebanese authorities had taken custody of retired Major General Adel Issa, the former commander of the 17th Division and commander of the Ground Forces in Deir ez-Zor during the rule of the Assad regime.
Meanwhile, the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) published a photograph showing the arrest of Musab Abu Rakba, a former lieutenant colonel who served in the Criminal Security and Political Security branches in Raqqa during the former regime’s rule. His arrest came after he entered Syria following his escape from Austria.
Austrian authorities had sentenced Abu Rakba to eight years in prison after convicting him of involvement in torture and abuses against detainees in Raqqa Governorate between 2011 and 2013.
These developments come as part of efforts to pursue former officials and officers accused of committing abuses and crimes against detainees and civilians during the years of war in Syria.
