[Al Jazeera] German prosecutors last week charged two men who were allegedly former Syrian intelligence officers with crimes against humanity. The charges set the stage for the first prosecution for torture by suspected members of the government's notorious security services and the case will be closely watched by those seeking justice for victims of international crimes committed since the Syrian war erupted in 2011.International crimes are crimes that are so serious that they affect the international community as a whole. They include war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
In a September report, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said that Syrian government forces backed by Russian warplanes may have committed war crimes, citing two incidents in Idlib province earlier this year. The same report also said that the former al-Qaeda affiliate Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else