France issues arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

A judicial source told AFP that Mr Assad is suspected of complicity in war crimes in attacks blamed on his regime by the opposition that killed more than 1,400 people near Damascus in August 2013.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Photo: AFP

International arrest warrants have also been issued for Mr Assad's brother Maher, the de facto head of an elite Syrian military unit, and two armed forces generals.

The Paris court's unit dealing with crimes against humanity has been investigating chemical attacks since 2021. The investigation came after a legal complaint was filed by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and the Syrian Archive.

“An independent tribunal is recognizing that the chemical attack could not have happened without the Syrian president knowing, without his being responsible,” SCM Chairman Mazen Darwish said of the arrest warrant for Assad.

The case against Mr. Assad and others is supported by firsthand witness accounts and in-depth analysis of the Syrian military chain of command, Darwish said.

Activists in 2013 posted videos on YouTube showing the impact of the attack, including footage of dozens of dead bodies, many of them children, lying on the ground.

Other images showed unconscious children, people foaming at the mouth, and doctors appearing to be giving them oxygen. The scenes sparked outrage and condemnation around the world.

A UN report later said there was clear evidence of the use of sarin gas. Syria agreed in 2013 to join the global watchdog Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and to give up all chemical weapons.

The OPCW has since blamed the Damascus government for a series of chemical attacks during the civil war. Syria has denied the allegations, which have also sparked legal complaints in Germany and other European countries.

Syria's civil war broke out in 2011 after Mr Assad's crackdown on peaceful protests escalated into a bloody conflict that has killed more than half a million people and displaced half of Syria's population.

Bui Huy (according to AFP, France24, CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phap-phat-lenh-bat-giu-tong-thong-syria-bashar-al-assad-post272609.html