Counterterrorism prosecutors were unable to overturn the warrant, claiming that al-Assad enjoys immunity as head of state.
A Paris appeals court has confirmed the validity of an arrest warrant issued against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad for alleged complicity in war crimes committed during the country’s civil war, according to lawyers.
Judges ruled on Wednesday that the warrant, which French anti-terrorism prosecutors sought to quash on the grounds that al-Assad enjoys immunity as a sitting head of state, remains in force.
“This is a historic decision. It is the first time that a national court has recognized that a sitting head of state does not have full personal immunity” for his actions, said plaintiffs’ lawyers Clemence Bectarte, Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt.
Mazen Darwish, director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, said the ruling “shows that there is no immunity when we talk about crimes against humanity and the use of chemical weapons against civilians.”
#NoImmunity #Justice #Syria pic.twitter.com/R60PCp63xm
— Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (@SyrianCenter) June 26, 2024
The case against al-Assad is a particularly egregious example of victims of the country’s devastating civil war seeking accountability for government forces who participated in atrocities.
In November, an arrest warrant was issued for al-Assad, his brother Maher and two Syrian generals for alleged complicity in war crimes, including chemical weapons attacks in the cities of Douma and Eastern Ghouta in 2013.
With al-Assad maintaining a high degree of control over Syria devastated by years of fighting during which his forces were accused of atrocities against civilians, Syrians who fled the country and settled in Europe have launched legal efforts to detain members of the army Syrian government and accountability.
The August 2013 chemical attacks killed more than 1,000 people and injured thousands more, but international condemnation produced little change in the Assad government’s conduct of the war.
In May, anti-terrorism prosecutors challenged the arrest warrant against al-Assad, arguing that sitting heads of state enjoy absolute immunity. Prosecutors did not challenge the arrest warrant for al-Assad’s brother or Syrian generals Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan.
Those named in the warrants could be arrested and taken to France for investigation, an unlikely outcome that, however, advocates say sends a message of accountability at a time when the Assad government is beginning to come in from the cold after years of being shunned. by the authorities. governments and regional organizations.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
