LONDON: Syrian security forces have arrested an Assad-era police officer who was convicted in an Austrian court for torturing opponents of the former president.
Musab Abu Rukba was detained in southern Syria “as part of ongoing operations against people implicated in terrorism cases,” the state news agency SANA reported on Saturday.
He was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Vienna court in July but returned to Syria earlier this month while he appealed the sentence, Reuters reported on Friday.
He arrived in his hometown of Nawa in Daraa province, where his family held a reception to celebrate his return.
A Syrian security authority said legal measures would be taken against Abu Rukba but gave no further details on the circumstances of his arrest.
