The Court of Appeal in Paris is set to announce its decision next Wednesday on whether to uphold or annul the arrest warrant against the president of the Syrian regime. The warrant accuses him of complicity in crimes against humanity.
On May 15th, the investigation chamber reviewed a request from the Office of the National Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor in France regarding the cancellation of the warrant, citing “personal immunity” typically granted to heads of state in their official capacities before foreign courts, as reported by AFP.
Since 2021, judges from the Paris Judicial Court’s Crimes against Humanity Unit have been investigating the chain of command responsible for chemical attacks. These attacks occurred on the night of August 4-5, 2013, in Adra and Douma near Damascus (resulting in 450 injuries), and on August 21 of the same year in Eastern Ghouta (resulting in the deaths of over a thousand people).
The judges’ inquiries led to the issuance of four arrest warrants in November 2023 on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes. The warrants targeted President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad (commander of the Fourth Division), and two other brigadier generals: Ghassan Abbas (director of Branch 450 of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center) and Bassam al-Hassan (presidential advisor for strategic affairs and liaison officer between the presidential palace and the Scientific Research Center).
Sources familiar with the case affirm that this marks the first time a foreign court has issued an arrest warrant against a sitting head of state. Consequently, according to AFP, the decision due next Wednesday is anticipated to be a “historic” one.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
