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Syrian and international human rights organizations have condemned the decision of the French judiciary to challenge the validity of the arrest warrant against The Syrian regime President Bashar al-Assad, excluding other officials.
The human rights organizations considered the court’s decision “inconsistent with France’s leadership of international partnership to combat impunity for the use of chemical weapons, and contrary to the consistent position of the French government calling for the accountability of all perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, hindering the exceptional efforts made by victims and survivors seeking justice and fairness through the French legal system”.
The joint statement of human rights organizations considered it time to challenge the personal immunity of the head of the regime regarding international crimes, stressing opposition to the decision to challenge the validity of the warrant.
Human rights organizations expressed their opposition to the French judiciary’s decision to challenge the validity of the arrest warrant against Assad, noting that warrants for the arrest of other officials have not been challenged and remain valid.
Syrians viewed the condemnation by Syrian and international human rights organizations of the French judiciary’s decision to challenge the validity of the arrest warrant against President Bashar al-Assad as a “positive step,” but the Syrian people still need more to achieve the goal of justice.
In mid-November 2023, an arrest warrant was issued against Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad (commander of the Fourth Division), and two of their associates, Brigadier General Ghassan Abbas (director of Branch 450 at the Scientific Studies and Research Center) and Brigadier General Bassam al-Hassan (presidential adviser for strategic affairs and liaison officer between the presidential palace and the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center).
In mid-January 2023, the National Counter-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office in France requested the Court of Appeals to rule on the validity of the arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using “prohibited” chemical weapons against civilians in Eastern Ghouta in 2013, resulting in the deaths of over a thousand people.
In November 2023, the lead investigating judge in the French war crimes unit summoned the director of the Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria, Nidal Shikhani, who provided crucial evidence indicating a chain of command and exchange of orders in the Eastern Ghouta crime.
The center also provided a list of names of around 200 individuals accused of transporting and using chemical weapons, prompting the public prosecutor to issue arrest warrants against the implicated individuals, especially Bashar and Maher al-Assad and two of their associates (specializing in identifying logistical targets).
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