How a Syrian Torture Victim Found Justice in Germany
Luna Watfa was imprisoned by Syria s secret service. Now in Germany, she has closely followed the trial of regime torturers in a Koblenz court.
Representative image. Photo: Raffaella/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
World27/Feb/2021
Luna, who asked that her real name not be used, spent more than 60 days in the courtroom, hoping for answers, for justice â and reliving painful experiences. “I remember what happened to me,” she said. “When I have to hear the same details about torture from witnesses, it is very difficult for me.”
On the opposite bank of the Rhine from her home in Koblenz is the courthouse that Luna, who has two children, knows so well. In April 2020, two former members of Syria’s secret service went on trial there for crimes against humanity. The trial was the first of its kind: an effort to illuminate Syria’s brutal system by holding its agents accountable abroad.
How a Syrian torture victim found justice in Germany
Luna Watfa was imprisoned by Syria s secret service. Now in Germany, she has closely followed the trial of regime torturers in a Koblenz court.
Luna was captured, tortured, then fled and faced her past in the German city of Koblenz
Luna, who asked that her real name not be used, spent more than 60 days in the courtroom, hoping for answers, for justice and reliving painful experiences. I remember what happened to me, she said. When I have to hear the same details about torture from witnesses, it is very difficult for me.