France issues arrest warrants against Syria’s Assad, 3 assistants
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – France issues arrest warrants for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and three of his regime for complicity in war crimes.
Aida Samani, Senior Legal Adviser at Civil Rights Defenders, said, “We hope that the arrest warrants will send a message loud and clear to the survivors, and everyone affected by the attacks and other atrocity crimes in Syria.”
The decision followed a multi-year criminal investigation. In addition to al-Assad, warrants have been issued against Maher al-Assad, de facto leader of the 4th Armored Division, General Ghassan Abbas, Director of Branch 450 of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), and General Bassam al-Hassan, Presidential Advisor for Strategic Affairs and liaison officer between the Presidential Palace and the SSRC.
The investigation was opened in response to a criminal complaint based on the testimony of survivors of the August 2013 attacks, filed in March 2021 by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) and by Syrian victims.
On Aug. 21, 2013, rockets loaded with sarin warheads were launched into eastern Ghouta, killing more than 1,400 people. The Syrian government still denies being involved in the attack.
The complaint was supported by the Syrian Archive and the Open Society Justice Initiative, which together with Civil Rights Defenders have joined the investigation as civil parties, as well as members of the Association of the Victims of Chemical Weapons (AVCW).
Since 2011, more than 200 chemical weapons attacks have been reported in Syria. UN investigators, together with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) have determined that al-Assad regime is responsible for several of the attacks.