France is set to commence the trial of three Syrian regime officials in the case involving the murder of two French-Syrian nationals in May 2024.
As reported by a judicial source to AFP on Monday, these officials will face trial in Paris on charges related to their alleged involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes in the murder of Mazen Dabbagh and his son, Patrick.
This trial, as disclosed by The National newspaper in the UAE, marks a historic moment as it represents the first-ever trial in France for crimes against humanity committed in Syria.
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Among the accused, former General Intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, who later assumed the role of head of the National Security Bureau, Jamil Hassan, the former head of Air Force Intelligence, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, the director of the Bab Touma branch of Air Force Intelligence in Damascus, are likely to be tried in absentia, as all three have international arrest warrants issued against them.
Additionally, in a separate development, Washington is preparing to try Hassan and Mamlouk for their alleged involvement in the murder of an American activist of Syrian origin.
Patrick Dabbagh, born in 1993, was a student at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities in Damascus. His father, born in 1956, served as a senior educational consultant at the French School in Damascus. They were both arrested in November 2013 by individuals claiming affiliation with the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Service.
According to Mazen Dabbagh’s brother-in-law, who was arrested at the same time but later released after two days, both men were transferred to Mezzeh prison, where reports of torture were rampant.
There were no signs of their well-being until the regime officially declared their deaths in August 2018. According to the two death certificates, Patrick passed away on January 21st, 2014, and Darwish on November 25th, 2017.
An indictment issued by two investigative judges at the end of March pointed out that it was “clear” that Patrick and Mazen Dabbagh “endured severe torture that ultimately resulted in their deaths, a fate shared by thousands of other detainees held by Air Force Intelligence.”
The Syrian regime is currently facing multiple prosecutions in various European countries, particularly in Germany.
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.
