Syrian and international human rights organizations have denounced the French judiciary’s move to contest the validity of the arrest warrant issued against President Bashar al-Assad, arguing that he holds immunity from prosecution and legal proceedings in France as a sitting head of state.
In mid-November 2023, French criminal investigative judges issued arrest warrants for Bashar Assad, his brother Maher, and two aides, Brigadier General Ghassan Abbas and Brigadier General Bassam al-Hassan, over allegations of employing prohibited chemical weapons in the city of Douma and the Eastern Ghouta region in 2013, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 civilians.
France Issues Arrest Warrants for Syria’s Assad, Senior Officials, Over Chemical Attacks
Following this, France’s National Counterterrorism Public Prosecutor’s Office sought the Paris Court of Appeal’s ruling on the validity of the arrest warrant against Bashar Assad, citing that “the competent council on crimes against humanity indicates that the issuance of this authorization constitutes an exception to the principle of personal immunity enjoyed by the president, prime minister, and foreign minister in their positions in each sovereign state.”
In a collective statement, the rights groups strongly objected to the decision to contest the validity of the arrest warrant against Assad, highlighting that warrants for the other officials have not faced similar challenges and remain in effect.
“While heads of state traditionally hold immunity before foreign domestic courts, recent years have witnessed a diminishing of state and functional immunities under international law to combat impunity for international crimes, particularly war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the statement noted.
The organizations emphasized the necessity of challenging the personal immunity of the Syrian regime’s president concerning international crimes, citing repeated calls by the international community and the UN Security Council to hold all perpetrators accountable in the context of Syrian chemical attacks.
They underlined that the ongoing impunity for such crimes perpetuates a cycle of violence and suffering for victims and survivors while undermining the principles of international law.
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.
