Watan-The Dutch authorities have arrested a Syrian Shabiha named “Rafiq Qatrib” in the Dronten Gelderland region of the Flevoland province after confirming his affiliation with the intelligence militia known as the National Defense Forces, which is loyal to the Assad regime. He is accused of committing war crimes, rape, murder, and torture in Syria.
Over the past years, Dutch authorities have arrested some members of the Bashar al-Assad regime in the country after they arrived as “refugees.”
Details of the arrest of the Syrian Shabiha in the Netherlands
It is expected that Qatrib will face a Dutch court, making this the second case of Dutch war crimes involving an ally of the Syrian regime, following the trial of Shabiha “Mustafa Dahoudi” a few days ago.
This comes after previous measures were taken against individuals suspected of belonging to the Islamic State or other armed groups, prosecuted under “universal jurisdiction,” allowing the trial of individuals outside Syria if the suspect is in the Netherlands or is a Dutch citizen involved.
According to the Dutch news site “rtlnieuws,” Qatrib, 55 years old, served as the head of the interrogation department for the National Defense Forces in Salamiyah, Syria, in 2013 and 2014. This information was uncovered through an investigation conducted by the International Crimes Team (TIM) affiliated with the National Criminal Investigation Department.
Dirty work
The National Defense Forces are a quasi-military group composed of various local militias fighting alongside the Syrian regime. According to the public prosecutor, they engage in “dirty work” for the Syrian army. The man is accused of committing torture and sexual violence against civilians in his position.
The suspected crimes are considered crimes against humanity in this case, especially if the crimes were part of a “broad or systematic attack against civilian populations.”
Qatrib has been living in the Netherlands since July 2021 under temporary asylum. He settled in Dronten with his family last year.
Shortly after his arrival in the Netherlands, the International Mechanism tracked the man based on information suggesting that a person with a similar name was a senior investigator in the local branch of the National Defense Forces in Salamiyah.
According to activists, Rafiq Qatrib, known as “Abu Naseem,” from the city of Salamiyah, worked as an investigator in the National Defense Forces. He was also the leader of an armed group responsible for arrests, theft, and murder inside and outside Salamiyah, often boasting about his killings and thefts. He was involved in the shooting and killing of the young man “Karim Nasra” in Salamiyah.
In 2020, an investigative report by the “nrc” newspaper revealed that dozens of members of pro-Assad militias were living in the Netherlands as refugees, including at least three accused of committing war crimes.