Wednesday, a German court sentenced a former Syrian intelligence agent to 4.5 years in prison for complicity in crimes against humanity, as part of the first trial in the world linked to violations attributed to the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The Supreme Court in Coblenz convicted the Syrian, Iyad al-Gharib, 44, on charges of participating in the arrest of at least 30 demonstrators in Douma, the largest city in Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, in September or October 2011 and transferring them to a detention center of the intelligence services.