French justice on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused of complicity in crimes against humanity for the chemical attacks perpetrated in the summer of 2013 in Syria, plaintiffs announced on Wednesday. A judicial source confirmed the issuance of four arrest warrants for complicity in crimes against humanity and for complicity in war crimes for these sarin gas attacks, which notably left more than 1,000 dead on August 21, 2013 in the Eastern Ghouta according to American intelligence.
An investigation opened in 2021
These warrants also target Bashar al-Assad’s feared brother, Maher, de facto leader of the Fourth Division, an elite unit of the Syrian army, as well as two generals, Ghassan Abbas, director of branch 450 of the CERS, and Bassam al-Hassan, liaison officer and head of security.
Investigating judges from the crimes against humanity unit of the Paris Judicial Court have been investigating since April 2021 into these chemical attacks perpetrated in 2013 in Syria and attributed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. The investigation was opened after a complaint with civil action by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Syrian Archive. These investigations, carried out under the “extraterritorial jurisdiction” of French justice, also relate to the attacks perpetrated on the night of August 4 to 5 in Adra and Douma (450 injured).
“This decision constitutes a historic judicial precedent. It is a new victory for the victims, their families and the survivors, as well as a step towards justice and lasting peace in Syria,” reacted in a press release Mazen Darwish, founder and general director of the SCM. He recalls that the complaint was accompanied by “first-hand testimonies from numerous victims”, an “in-depth analysis of the Syrian military chain of command”, as well as “hundreds of documents, including photos and videos”. The Syrian regime is the target of several legal actions launched in Europe, particularly in Germany.
The conflict has left more than half a million dead
In France, the first trial of officials of the Syrian regime will take place from May 21 to 24 in Paris: three senior officials of Bashar al-Assad’s regime will be tried for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes, for death of two Franco-Syrian citizens, Mazzen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, arrested in 2013.
In another procedure, concerning a bombing in 2017 in Daraa, arrest warrants were issued in October against four former senior leaders of the Syrian army. Started in 2011, the conflict in Syria has left more than half a million dead and divided the country.