CIJA testifies in case of Anwar Raslan

CIJA’s director of operations and investigations Chris Engels, testified as an expert and fact witness in the case of Anwar Raslan, former Syrian regime official on trial in Koblenz. During a two-day testimony, CIJA testified on structures of the regime security intelligence agencies and issues specific to the accused’s role as chief of interrogations in branches 285 and 251 of the General Intelligence Directorate. The testimony was based on CIJA’s investigative and analytical work in Syria since 2012 during which over one million pages of evidence were collected. In 2017 CIJA compiled a case file pertaining to Raslan’s criminal responsibility, updating it in 2018 and sharing it with German authorities. The cooperation on the case continued in the lead up to Raslan’s arrest in 2019 and his start of trial in April this year. CIJA’s testimony relied on documents and testimony of insider witnesses. A number of documents, including those bearing the accused’s signature, were handed over to the Koblenz court.

CIJA’s investigative work in Syria and Iraq has already led to a number of convictions in European and US courts. CIJA continues supporting over 30 law enforcement agencies in 13 countries in their investigative work regarding Syrian regime and Da’esh perpetrators having answered over 500 requests for assistance pertaining to 1000 persons of interests in the last five years.