Paris court refuses immunity of former Syrian central bank governor
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Paris Court of Appeal refused on Thursday the functional immunity claimed by the former governor of the Central Bank of the Syrian government, Adib Mayaleh.
On Dec. 8, 2016, a preliminary investigation was opened against Mayaleh and he was arrested on French territory on Dec. 16, 2022. He has been placed under the status of assisted witness in May 2024.
Adib Mayaleh now has five days to appeal this decision before the French Supreme Court. He is under investigation for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Adib Mayaleh, Franco-Syrian citizen and former governor of the Central Bank of the Syrian government, was indicted on Dec. 20, 2022 for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, laundering the proceeds of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and participation in a group formed or an agreement established with a view to committing crimes against humanity.
“This is a strong signal: functional immunity can no longer be invoked to obstruct the fight against impunity for international crimes, considered to be the gravest of all crimes,” said Clémence Bectarte, lawyer for the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).