Three alleged former members of the Syrian secret police are being held in Germany and France in what are believed to be the first Western arrests of Assad regime officials on suspicion of torture, it emerged on Wednesday.

Two of the men are being held in Germany on suspicion of crimes against humanity, German prosecutors said in a statement.

A 42-year-old man named only as Eyad A under German privacy laws, is accused of being an accessory to the killing of two people and the torture and physical abuse of at least 2,000.

His 56-year-old former commanding officer, named only as Anwar R, is accused of general involvement in torture and physical abuse as a high-ranking officer in the Assad regime’s secret police.

A third unnamed man who served under Anwar R is being held in France as part of a coordinated operation, German prosecutors said.

The arrests follow months of concerted efforts by activists to bring about prosecutions over crimes committed in Syria’s civil war in the German courts, which claim worldwide jurisidiction over war crimes and crimes of humanity.

The two men held in Germany both claimed asylum there after fleeing Syria, and Anwar R appears to have made little effort to hide his past, according to German media reports.