Swedish police can nail Assad's torturers

A landslide of testimonies is expected to come from Syrians in Sweden who have been victims of crimes in their home country, but who previously did not dare to testify due to fear of the former dictator Bashar al-Assad's reprisals. But even their perpetrators are believed to be here in Sweden.

» Published: March 01 2025

Swedish police can nail Assad's torturers
Photo: Hussein Malla/AP/TT

Don't come here, warned perpetrators from the former Assad regime by Patricia Rakic Arle, head of the police war crimes unit in Stockholm.

Her team, with around fourteen investigators, already has a full workload with ongoing investigations. Every time a report is filed against an individual, regardless of where in the world the crimes were committed, the war crimes group is obligated to investigate the allegations.

And since Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad fell in December, after he and his father had ruled the country with an iron fist for over 50 years, a flood of previously silenced victims and relatives is expected to come forward.

Unique working method

The Syrian state's abuses are often linked to the horror prisons where political dissidents were taken, whose atrocities the world has learned about since the regime's fall. There, prisoners lived with constant torture.

Many of the Syrians now living in Sweden have either been imprisoned under such conditions or have a relative who was subjected to it, says Rakic Arle.

I almost don't believe that there are many Syrians who came in 2015 who don't have a connection to these prisons. It was so terribly many. They live with the trauma here.

Sweden has a good international reputation when it comes to investigating war crimes. On several occasions, perpetrators of crimes committed far away, many years ago, have been brought to justice in Swedish courts.

For the police officers who initiate the often lengthy processes, the working method is different from other crime investigations. Usually, investigations begin with a crime being committed and the police searching for a perpetrator. When it comes to war crimes, the order is often reversed: investigators receive a tip about a suspected perpetrator and then have to determine whether the actions the person is accused of constitute a crime according to Swedish law.

But an investigation can also be initiated without a name on a suspect.

We work with something called structural investigation. It's unique to us, no one else works that way, says Rakic Arle.

Three arrested

Structural investigation means that an investigation is set up for large, international events that can lead to prosecution in Sweden.

It's basically more of an information gathering, a kind of intelligence base. But for us to be able to hold interrogations and seize evidence, there must be an investigation, and then we have to work according to the Code of Judicial Procedure.

The terrorist sect IS's crimes in its former caliphate, perpetrators in Russia's war against Ukraine, and crimes committed by Syria's regime all have ongoing investigations in Stockholm. A structural investigation has not yet been initiated regarding the war in Gaza, but it also takes up a lot of the war crimes unit's time and resources.

Structural investigation allows us to hold interrogations with people who have general key information: journalists, doctors. In many cases, people who have been detained. We take down the testimonies and secure the evidence for the future.

Many interrogations have already been held with Syrians who were imprisoned under the regime. To get victims to dare to talk, war crimes investigators need to have good social skills and knowledge of cultures that differ from their own.

When it comes to Syrians, there is one factor that stands out for the police: the fear of reprisals has been massive.

Assad's notorious intelligence apparatus created the expression that "the walls have ears" – a perception that the police could feel even in the interrogation rooms in Stockholm.

"They will be smoked out"

If it emerges that a person pointed out in an interrogation in Sweden is in another country, the countries often cooperate and exchange information.

Right now, three people are detained in Sweden, suspected of having participated in violently suppressing peaceful government demonstrators on the outskirts of Damascus in 2012, in alliance with the Assad regime. They were arrested in collaboration with German police, who have detained five more people for the same suspicions.

However, the fall of the Assad regime is also feared to lead to more suspected perpetrators, who risk being punished by the new government, leaving Syria for Europe and Sweden.

Some who may have been regime loyalists but have been granted asylum in Sweden and traveled back and forth to their home country. They are probably afraid of what will happen there.

It concerns, for example, people who worked in the horror prisons and committed crimes such as torture or arbitrary executions.

Such people are likely already in Sweden, according to Rakic Arle, although identification may be complicated by the fact that some perpetrators are believed to have sought asylum in Sweden under false identities.

They will likely be smoked out. In countries with a large Syrian diaspora, it's hard to stay hidden.

Until December, the Syrian state had been ruled with an iron fist by the al-Assad family since the 1970s.

Syria's political system was formed by Hafiz al-Assad, president from 1970 to 2000. His son Bashar al-Assad inherited power after his father's death in 2000 and implemented some changes. But the basic system remained the same: with the president as both head of state, supreme commander, and holding the highest executive power.

The uprising against Bashar al-Assad's regime that started in connection with the Arab Spring in 2011 soon took the form of a civil war with significant involvement of foreign powers, resulting in many deaths and a massive refugee wave.

Independent organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly reported on al-Assad's brutal rule and the state-controlled secret police that systematically tortured, imprisoned, and killed opponents of the regime.

In December 2024, the regime was overthrown by a coalition of rebel forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Source: Landguiden/UI

Tags

TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

Carbon Monoxide Blamed for Kebnekaise
1 MIN READ

Carbon Monoxide Blamed for Kebnekaise Deaths, No Crime Suspected

Two Sentenced for Unexploded Grenade
1 MIN READ

Two Sentenced for Unexploded Grenade Attack on Malmö Restaurant

Simona Mohamsson Named New Party
2 MIN READ

Simona Mohamsson Named New Party Secretary for The Liberals

Record Number of Swedes Register
1 MIN READ

Record Number of Swedes Register for University Entrance Exam

Shots Fired at House in
1 MIN READ

Shots Fired at House in Hudiksvall, Police Investigate Attempted Murder

Teen Girl Stabbed on Bus
1 MIN READ

Teen Girl Stabbed on Bus in Eslöv; Four Teens Detained

Demirok Steps Down as Center
1 MIN READ

Demirok Steps Down as Center Party Leader Citing Internal Leaks

Swedish Care Worker Jailed for
1 MIN READ

Swedish Care Worker Jailed for Defrauding Elderly of Millions

Ancient Greek Harbor Unveiled Beneath
3 MIN READ

Ancient Greek Harbor Unveiled Beneath Waters in Asine Discovery

Suspected Murder in Hässleholm: One
1 MIN READ

Suspected Murder in Hässleholm: One Person Detained

Teenage Girl Stabbed on Bus
1 MIN READ

Teenage Girl Stabbed on Bus in Eslöv; Four Teens Arrested

Ex-Regional Official in Sweden Faces
1 MIN READ

Ex-Regional Official in Sweden Faces Charges in Pension Fund Bribery Case

Shingles Vaccine Linked to Lower
2 MIN READ

Shingles Vaccine Linked to Lower Dementia Risk in Older Adults

Critics Challenge Proposal to End
3 MIN READ

Critics Challenge Proposal to End Summer Grazing for Swedish Dairy Cows

Sweden Proposes Transparency for Lottery
1 MIN READ

Sweden Proposes Transparency for Lottery Purchases Supporting Parties

Elderly Man's Death in Gullspång
1 MIN READ

Elderly Man's Death in Gullspång Fire Investigated as Suspected Murder

Sweden Tightens Control on Opioids
1 MIN READ

Sweden Tightens Control on Opioids and Hazardous Substances

Sweden Braces for Economic Impact
2 MIN READ

Sweden Braces for Economic Impact from US Tariffs, Government Warns

Swedish Man Faces Arson Charges
1 MIN READ

Swedish Man Faces Arson Charges for House Fire in Norway

Man Charged in Fatal Lund
1 MIN READ

Man Charged in Fatal Lund Knife Attack Linked to Drug Deal

Electric Scooter Accidents Surge by
1 MIN READ

Electric Scooter Accidents Surge by 30 Percent in 2024, Young Riders Most Affected

Skåne Manager Faces Charges for
1 MIN READ

Skåne Manager Faces Charges for Embezzling Millions from Municipalities

Teen Faces Court in Sweden
2 MIN READ

Teen Faces Court in Sweden for Alleged Sect-Linked Knife Attack

Elderly Man Critically Injured in
1 MIN READ

Elderly Man Critically Injured in Kävlinge Villa Fire

Somalia Expels Swedish Aid Chief
1 MIN READ

Somalia Expels Swedish Aid Chief Anna Saleem Högberg

Sweden Proposes Tighter Security at
2 MIN READ

Sweden Proposes Tighter Security at Migration Detention Centers

Swedish Foreign Minister to Discuss
2 MIN READ

Swedish Foreign Minister to Discuss Journalist's Detention with Turkey

Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm to
1 MIN READ

Casino Cosmopol in Stockholm to Close Following Riksdag Decision

Sweden's Malmer Stenergard to Discuss
2 MIN READ

Sweden's Malmer Stenergard to Discuss Journalist's Detention with Turkey

Parents in Sweden Jailed for
1 MIN READ

Parents in Sweden Jailed for Locking Children in Basement

75-Year-Old Woman Cleared of Murder
1 MIN READ

75-Year-Old Woman Cleared of Murder Charges in Ale

Bribery Convictions in Sweden See
1 MIN READ

Bribery Convictions in Sweden See Rise in Gross Offenses

Suspect Detained in Norrköping Murder
1 MIN READ

Suspect Detained in Norrköping Murder Investigation

Sabotage Cuts Power to 500
1 MIN READ

Sabotage Cuts Power to 500 Homes in Småland, Police Investigate

Twelve Indicted in Major Scania
1 MIN READ

Twelve Indicted in Major Scania Drug Network Bust

Sun-Seeking App Trend Raises Skin
2 MIN READ

Sun-Seeking App Trend Raises Skin Cancer Concerns in Sweden

Sweden Braces for Year's Warmest
1 MIN READ

Sweden Braces for Year's Warmest Day Before Cold Snap Hits

Online Sect's Influence on Teen
4 MIN READ

Online Sect's Influence on Teen Knife Attacks Faces Court Scrutiny

Swedish Man Sentenced to 10
1 MIN READ

Swedish Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Long-Term Abuse of Relative

Man Critically Injured in Sollefteå
1 MIN READ

Man Critically Injured in Sollefteå Workplace Accident