The Paris Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld an arrest warrant issued by investigating judges to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accused of complicity in crimes against humanity in the deadly August 2013 chemical attacks. According to victims’ lawyers and NGO representatives.
“It has been confirmed,” several civil lawyers told the press after deliberations took place behind closed doors. Thus, the investigative chamber rejected the request of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT), which asked to cancel the mandate on the basis of the personal integrity of current presidents.
Sarin gas attacks
Pnat said it is “still unanimously accepted” that exceptions to personal immunity for heads of state in power are “reserved exclusively for international jurisdictions” such as the International Criminal Court (ICC). and not the courts of foreign countries.
“While not questioning the existence of elements indicating the involvement of Bashar al-Assad in the chemical attacks carried out in August 2013,” Pnat wanted “to see this issue resolved by a higher court.” In the coming days, the anti-terrorism prosecution may appeal to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the French judicial system.
Investigating judges from the Crimes Against Humanity Unit have been investigating since 2021 the chain of command that led to the attacks carried out on the night of 4–5 August in Adre and Douma (450 wounded) and on 21 August. , 2013 in Eastern Ghouta, where, according to American intelligence, more than a thousand people died from sarin gas. It is the deadliest attack in the Syrian conflict.
Four arrest warrants issued
The investigation led to the issuance of four arrest warrants in mid-November for allegedly planning the attacks. They are targeting Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, the de facto leader of the Fourth Division, an elite unit of the Syrian army, and two generals, Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan.
Pnat challenged the mandate against the Syrian head of state, but not against the other three. Investigations assigned to the Central Office for Combating Crimes Against Humanity and Hate Crimes (OCLCH) are based, among other things, on photographs, videos or maps provided, among others, by civilian parties, as well as statements from survivors and victims. defectors from military units.
Source: Le Parisien
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