The torture survivors suing the Syrian regime

On Thursday, Germany’s federal prosecutor heard witness testimony in a landmark case filed by the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which accuses six high-ranking Syrian officials close to President Bashar al-Assad of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The complaint was submitted by several Syrian ex-detainees, including two Syrian lawyers, who say they were victims of torture in the regime’s cells. While similar legal action has been taken elsewhere in Europe, this case is unique in that it was launched under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows prosecutors and courts to pursue international crimes even in the absence of links to Germany.

In February, Assad denied claims of torture in Syrian prisons, saying in an interview that the allegations had “not a shred of evidence.”

The accounts detail brutal beatings, sexual violence and systematic torture in three Damascus prisons -- branches 215, 227 and 235 -- between October 2011 and July 2015. CNN interviewed two of the witnesses, Syrian activist Khaled Rawas and lawyer Mazen Darwish, ahead of the hearing.

Click or tap on the photos to read excerpts from their testimonies, edited by CNN for clarity. Anonymous witnesses with redacted testimony have not been included.