Today marks a historical event in international criminal justice. Two former members of the Syrian General Intelligence Service will stand trial before the Oberlandesgericht Koblenz (Higher Regional Court). It is the first time that former members of the Assad regime will be held responsible for state-run torture before a criminal court. While the German coverage of the trial is quite extensive (see the excellent editorial in Süddeutsche Zeitung, episode 8 of the legal podcast 'Die

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... r*innen' or the coverage by Deutschlandfunk), this blogpost is intended to make this information available to English-speaking audiences as well. Another aim is to highlight intertwining aspects of international criminal trials held before domestic courts, including the broad range of state and civil society actors required to bring such a case to court.