Spain court drops complaint against Syrian security officials

A top Spanish court said today it was dropping a criminal complaint brought against nine key Syrian security and intelligence officials for torture and other crimes, ruling it lacked jurisdiction over the case.
A National Court judge in March agreed to investigate the lawsuit, which was filed by a Spanish woman of Syrian origin who said her truck driver brother was arrested, and then tortured and executed, in 2013 at a centre in Damascus under the control of Syrian security forces.
Spanish law allows prosecution of serious crimes in other countries if there is a Spanish victim or if there is a direct link to Spain.

The judge argued that the Spanish woman who filed the lawsuit could be considered a victim in the case.
But a higher panel within the National Court ruled today that the investigation should be dropped, arguing the judge "did not have the jurisdiction to pursue the events named on the complaint".
The woman who filed the lawsuit learned of her brother's death by spotting a picture of him in a trove of photographs smuggled out of Syria by a forensic photographer with the Syrian military police, codenamed Caesar, who deserted the regime.