Key facts
- Syrian security forces arrested former officer Musab Abu Rukba in Nawa, Daraa province.
- Abu Rukba was convicted in Austria for abusing detainees and sentenced to eight years in prison.
- He fled Austria while his appeal was pending and returned to Syria in early August.
- Syrian authorities stated he entered the country illegally and is being processed for prosecution.
Syrian security forces have arrested a former security officer from the Assad era, Lieutenant Colonel Musab Abu Rukba, in the city of Nawa in Daraa province. Abu Rukba had fled Austria after being sentenced to eight years in prison by a Vienna court for abusing detainees and committing sexual assault against opponents of former President Bashar al-Assad. He had headed the police’s criminal investigations department in Raqqa over a decade ago.