Paris court confirms arrest warrant for Syrian President
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Paris appeals court confirmed on Wednesday an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over complicity in war crimes.
The warrant issued by French judges in November 2023 refers to charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes, followed a French investigation into chemical attacks in Douma and Eastern Ghouta in Rif Dimashq Governorate in August 2013, that resulted in the killing of more than a thousand people, according to reports.
“It’s the first time that a national court has recognized that the personal immunity of a serving head of state is not absolute,” lawyers who filed the complaint against al-Assad said in a statement.
French judicial authorities issued international arrest warrants in November 2023 for the Syrian president, his brother Maher al-Assad, commander of the Fourth Armored Division, and two Syrian generals, Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan, for alleged complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Prosecutors, who would be responsible for asking the police to enact the warrant, had challenged its validity, arguing that, as a sitting head of state, al-Assad was immune from trial and prosecution in France.