Inside the Raslan Trial: ‘Vengeance is not our goal, nor do we seek merely just retribution’

On the first day, the Court heard the case’s last witness. The Defense’s request to hear this witness was previously rejected, but the witness appeared in Court anyway and was allowed to testify. All parties agreed that his testimony did not add anything to the trial. On the second day, closing arguments started. The Prosecutors emphasized the integral role played by Syrian survivors of torture throughout this trial, and they expressed their hope that the trial would help survivors to feel more at home in this world again. The Prosecutors sought life imprisonment and the particular severity of guilt for Anwar Raslan. This would mean that Raslan’s sentence could not be suspended on parole after fifteen years imprisonment.