French judges have convicted three senior Syrian officials for their roles in the imprisonment, enforced disappearance, and torture of dual Syrian-French citizens Patrick Dabbagh and his father, Mazzen, in 2013. The officials, Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, were found guilty of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
General Ali Mamlouk is one of the most powerful Syrian security officers and a high-ranking aide to President Bashar al Assad. He is the director of the Baath Party National Security Bureau, but his reputation came from his position as the head of the General Directorate of Intelligence, one of the four most powerful security agencies in Syria.
The trial, held in absentia at the Paris Criminal Court, concluded with the court recognizing the severe human rights abuses committed by the Syrian government. Despite the absence of the accused, French law ensures the right to a full and fair retrial should they be apprehended.
French Justice Orders the Trial of Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan and Abdel Salam Mahmoud
On May 21, 2024, victims’ and families’ associations gathered outside the Paris Criminal Court, holding photos of relatives who have been detained or disappeared in Syria. Human Rights Watch observed the trial’s opening day alongside numerous Syrian families, activists, and civil society groups, many displaying photographs of their disappeared loved ones.
Since 2011, extensive documentation by Human Rights Watch and other organizations has highlighted systematic arbitrary detention and torture by Syrian government forces, constituting crimes against humanity. Despite substantial evidence from UN investigations and national court cases in Europe, there is no indication that the Syrian government has ceased its abusive practices or held anyone accountable for these atrocities over the past decade.
The Paris court case serves as a stark reminder to the Assad government that international scrutiny of its human rights abuses will persist. During the trial, the court examined compelling evidence, including the Caesar photographs depicting thousands of detainees who died in detention, showcasing widespread torture, starvation, beatings, and disease in Syrian government facilities. Testimonies were heard from French investigators, UN-mandated team representatives, and survivors.
The International Federation for Human Rights, La Ligue des droits de l’homme, and Obeida Dabbagh, a relative of the victims, supported by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), filed a complaint with French authorities in 2016, leading to this historic trial.
Over ten years since the disappearance of Patrick and Mazzen Dabbagh, their story highlights the ongoing plight of countless others who have similarly vanished in Syria, and the enduring anguish of their families seeking answers. Much more is needed to ensure this cycle of impunity is finally broken.
