of you, robert, you are connected to the whole world. experience out standing shopping and dining offers, enjoy our services. be our guest at frankfurt airport city, managed by fraud lou with this is either news line from berlin landmark torture trial. a german court finds a syrian officer guilty of crimes against humanity. the verdict sense a former secret service officer to prison for

a life for overseeing the systematic torture of prisoners in syria. also coming up they may not be part of direct talks, but you ministers are making their voices heard in the debate over rushes to build up on the ukraine border. and serbian tennis star novak jock of it shows included in the draw for the australian open, the spite uncertainty over his visa ah online, i thank you so much for joining us. we start with a landmark verdict. a german court has sentenced a former syrian military officer to life in prison for crimes against humanity. the court found the man named unwell ruslan guilty of overseeing the murder of 27

people at the hot, deep detention center just outside of damascus. miss roslyn is the highest ranking syrian official so far convicted of the charge. the verdict was much anticipated by those who suffered abuse or loss relatives at the hands of the government in serious long war his victim say he caused unspeakable suffering. now on war. roslyn could spend the rest of his life behind bars. outside the courtroom relief i am, i am so happy. i am so happy because today it's mickery victory for justice as possible. it's victory for victims. it's victory for julia. i'm future of sheila, it's it said eric, ignition of the crimes committed the interior and i think it's quite a cave for this. who by their death syrian who are gra heck did with these

crime. so i hope that he said these symptoms and is there that will be a strong base for her future war. as a former colonel and serious secret service, roslyn oversaw a notorious prison in damascus. witnesses told of electric shocks, beatings and rape. he deserted his post in 2012 and fled to germany, where he lived for 5 years as a refugee, until one of his victims recognized him on the street. roslyn was found guilty on $27.00 counts of murder. those who help bring him to justice say he's just one among many that and that in accounting of the crimes of the syrian civil war, has only just begun. let's speak now to sara ali. she's syria researcher in the middle east and north africa division at human rights watch, and is investigating human rights violations in assyria. sir,

thank you so much for taking the time to take our questions. this is regarded as a landmark case over state lead torture and syria. how important is this verdict? this verdict is extremely important. it is indeed a watershed moment, not just for syria, but also for the international community. this is the highest level official of the syrian government that's ever been indicted or indeed accused. and, and this is the 1st type of trial of its kind, it's against st state sponsored torture. and we're hoping that this will be a map for other other countries to follow. how does this become a german trial? germany was able to actually pursue this trial because it adopts the principle of universal jurisdiction, which is a principle under international law that allows it to pursue cases against humanity

and atrocities where they didn't happen on germany's territory where the victim or the perpetrator were not german it's, it's the kind of principle that we hope other european countries will adopt some already have it in their framework. but it reading enables countries to have a role in violations that are too big to ignore. a sarah, how difficult is it to prosecute and find evidence against those who ate the likes of the assad regime? like you're annoyed rosslyn i think it really depends. i think the value of the, of the copeland trial is that it showed us that it is possible to do this. it is possible to identify syrians who have committed grieve abuses and prosecute them funny on to the, to the extent that the law allows. i think the challenge really lies with how you get the big fish, the higher level officials at the head of the system of repression of this torture archipelago that we have in syria. how do you capture them and ensure that they are

prosecuted? and i think that's the next challenge for the international justice. a speaking of that sir, why does the i c c not involved in this? you know, when you get sloppy, for instance, went through the war in the aftermath. there was these special i, c t, y, a un office in the or court, i should say try in crimes that were committed in, in lucas and the former yugoslavia. why isn't there such an international court for syria? i mean, the, the reason is the 2 primary ways that you could get to the international criminal court as if a country has ratified their own statute, which syria has not. or if the un security council refers the matter to the i, c. c. and unfortunately, russia and china continued to block any kind of resolution that seeks to refer syria to the international criminal court. so in the, in the face of a lack of international,

multilateral alternative to holding syria accountable for these atrocities, we've resorted to european courts, national courts that can use universal jurisdiction to pursue the cases. just as, as has happened in germany, sark alia is the syria researcher in the middle east and north africa division at human rights watch a talking to us about the significance of this land market torture verdict that has been passed here in germany today, sir, thank you very much for taking our questions. european union minister as our meeting to discuss russia's military build up on its border with ukraine. the discussions come amid a flurry of diplomatic activity to try and refuse the crisis. the you was not part of talks this week between the us and russia, but foreign policy chief, joseph brown, denied that the e u is being frozen out of the negotiations over the threat of war in its own backyard. novel could be good. that's been

a lot of talk that europe was kept the side that europe was not participating, was not at the table. i really listen. we've developed an extremely advance coordination with the united states anymore. but we're actually corporation, and we are assured that nothing will be decided not even negotiated with the russians when a close coordination with europe and without the participation of the europeans is song about the bush on the shore. the usa taff diplomat. there is speaking a want to go now to dw, corresponded lisa louis in breast of france, where the e ministers are, are meeting. lisa put this in perspective for us. what role does the european union play in diffusing tensions and resolving the crisis on ukraine's border? well, the e is obviously underlining that it is talking to the years that it's been debriefed by the years that it's really involved in all these talks. but as you said beforehand, actually then they're not sitting at the negative negotiating table. that's down to

the fact that the european union is very much divided amongst members states. they don't really know what starts to take towards russia on the ukraine issue. and that's why they don't have one international voice and are not really perceived as a strong do you political partner. now with the e. u side lined, and the drumbeats of war becoming louder? what are the potential consequences for the block itself? if russia decides to invade ukraine, well, if that really were to happen, foreign ministers here have said today that they would then impose toughest sanctions on russia. and obviously, it would also increase the pressure on member states to take a tough stance on russia. you know, because there are divergences between the different stances by the different member states. for example, germany could no longer probably just go ahead and buy more and more cheap gas from russia, that at least that would become more controversial within the european union. and

the european union would have to come together and take a tougher stance. obviously, here, foreign ministers are talking about how to come together and how to come up with a common defense policy. they are hoping that as soon as at this march, they will be able to issue a common white paper that would permit, but that will allow the european union to become a real geopolitical international player. well, let's continue our conversation on that or let's conclude it on that. are we? what does all of this signal about that you as a player on the global stage? while it does mean that at this very moment in time, the european union does not really play a big role. it is an economic, a commercial player, a soft power, but hasn't achieved yet to become a hard part minute. some analysts have been telling me earlier today and yesterday that actually this might be a moment, a tipping point for the european union because it's,

it's so flabbergasting really quite astonishing that. and when it comes to an issue that's happening right next to the european union in a neighboring state, that the european union, european union officials are not at the negotiating table. so maybe this is an impulse for them to change policy. and to come up with one voice in order to play a bigger role. internationally speaking, to w, corresponded lisa. we are reporting from breast france where the ministers are meeting. thank you. lisa was get you up to speed. now, with the other headlines that were tracking a troops from 8 russia, led military alliance deployed to kazakhstan, have begun heading home because our president, called in the forces last week after peaceful demonstrations against rising fuel prices escalated into violent anti government protests. authority say they have now regained full control in the central asian nation. written this prince.

andrew has been stripped of his royal highness title, along with his military affiliations. and royal patronage. is the princess facing a civil case in the u. s. over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman when she was 17 virginia jew freight is suing the prince, claiming he abused her in 2000. and one teachers and friends have gone on strike of what they say is the unmanageable burden of dealing with coven 19 rules. about half of frances primary schools are to remain closed due to the walk out. teachers unions want better protection in the classroom as the on the ground, very fuels a huge surge in cases. labor unions have paralyzed parts of lebanon, with a general strike bus truck and taxi drivers, blots major highways and roads in the capital b route. and universities who will close all over the country. lebanon has been

suffering one of the world's worst economic crises. protestors are angry at what they describe as government in action. stella, star novak jock of ich, is still waiting to hear if he can stay in australia after arriving without a covert vaccine and with misleading paperwork. australian open organizers have been proceeding on the assumption that mr. joke of which will play in a tournament, but ultimately the country's immigration minister will have the final say. on the surface, the count down to the striding openness, hitting all the usual good. the players practice and the draw has been made head of monday start. we start with our number one siege for the tournament, novak jock of ich, on line number one. the world number one is now officially drawn to play another

serbian in round one. but will he not back jock, of each like the rest of the sporting world, a white on the striving government to rule on his visa to stay and play the wife of the decision about novak jock beach, they say, yet to be made. and how long is your government going to let this dragon fall? while i refer to mister hawks, most recent statement in that position hasn't changed. no news is not necessarily good use the joke of it, but he can rest assured he is now being represented at the highest diplomatic levels. i'm hoping and i, that's why i said to prime minister morrison, i am, i'm hoping that nova will be allowed to stay in australia and, and play in the australian open fraud. i learned as a natural finale for the blockbuster drama down under. but if the government has a shingle for its decision, i get to share and before i let it go, one of the biggest voices of the 1960 s has fallen silent. american singer ronnie spector as died of cancer at the age of 70. she shot to startling the sixty's as

leader of the next. a group was perhaps best known for the classic. my baby. ah. up next love is in the air for our dark film love around the world on layla harakas, berlin. i hope to see tomorrow. with.