PARIS (Reuters) – The Paris Court of Appeal on Wednesday validated an arrest warrant issued in France against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused of complicity in crimes against humanity for his role in attacks on chemical weapons against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus in 2013, the lawyer for one of the NGOs behind the complaint told Reuters.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) contested the arrest warrant issued by specialist investigating judges, arguing that sitting heads of state enjoy personal immunity and that exceptions to this principle should be “reserved for the sole benefit of international jurisdictions”, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Court of Appeal rejected this request and confirmed the arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad, which could open the way to a trial if the Pnat does not appeal to the cassation, or if the highest French court confirms the decision of the Court of Appeal.
“This is a historic victory, not only for the Syrian victims, but for all victims around the world,” commented Mazen Darwish, director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, who attended the closed hearing.
“The Court’s decision confirms what we have always said: when it comes to crimes against humanity, war crimes and the use of chemical weapons, immunity must never be invoked,” he added.
The arrest warrants issued by French judges in November 2023 against Bashar al-Assad and three other Syrian leaders – for complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes – followed a 2021 investigation into the chain of command behind the chemical attacks in the city of Douma and in the Eastern Ghouta region, which reportedly left more than a thousand dead on the night of August 4 to 5, 2013.
Arrest warrants issued against sitting heads of state are rare because they generally enjoy immunity. However, international law provides exceptions to this immunity when a head of state is accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.
“This decision clearly shows that rules on immunity cannot be synonymous with impunity, especially for the most serious crimes,” said Steve Kostas, legal advisor to the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI). ).
(Maya Gebelly in Beirut, with Dominique Vidalon in Paris, written by Tangi Salaün, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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