France’s President Emmanuel Macron (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Human rights organizations have called on French President Emmanuel Macron to prosecute Abdul Hamid S, a former Syrian regime intelligence officer, for war crimes in Syria.
About 11 organizations, including Amnesty International, the Human Rights Association, and the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, sent a letter titled “France must not be a land where Syrian executioners in Syria escape prosecution.” The organizations called on the French president to open the process for placing the Syrian officer on trial.
The source explained that the former officer in the Syrian regime’s intelligence services had entered France illegally in 2015, eventually being granted refugee status in 2018. In the following year, he was sentenced to prison for his involvement in torture and crimes against humanity in service of the Syrian regime.
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However, the French Supreme Court of Appeal had previously adjourned and dismissed criminal proceedings against former Syrian intelligence officer Abdul Hamid S, ruling that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case.
It pointed out that the Court of Appeal’s November 24th decision, which specified that the court did not have jurisdiction, reflects the French judiciary’s 2010 decision not to hear cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute.
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.
