Syria faces torture case at top UN court

THE HAGUE: The Netherlands and Canada dragged Damascus to the International Court of Justice over allegations of torture, the UN´s top tribunal said on Monday, marking the first such case in Syria´s brutal civil war.

The case accuses Syria of breaching a UN convention against torture by mistreating and disappearing detainees, committing sexual violence including against children, and even by the use of chemical weapons.

It is the first time Syria has faced international justice over the conflict, which erupted after President Bashar al-Assad cracked down on protests in 2011 and which has killed more than 500,000 people.

Canada and the Netherlands said they had asked the ICJ to take urgent measures including ordering Syria to “cease the torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of its people.”