A French court has issued an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Le Monde reports.
Bashar al-Assad is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity in the wake of chemical attacks in 2013, a judicial source and plaintiffs in the case said on Wednesday, 15 November.
The judicial source told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Assad is also suspected of complicity in war crimes related to the attacks, which the opposition accuses the regime of, that killed more than 1,400 people near Damascus in August 2013.
International arrest warrants have also been issued for Assad’s brother Maher, the de facto head of one of Syria’s elite military units, and two military generals.
The Paris court’s crimes against humanity unit has been investigating chemical attacks since 2021. The investigation was launched following a judicial complaint filed by the non-governmental organisation Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), the lawyers’ association Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and the Syrian Archive, an organisation dedicated to documenting human rights violations in Syria. SCM president Mazen Darwish said of the warrant for Assad’s arrest:
“It’s a huge development. An independent jurisdiction is recognizing that the chemical attack couldn’t have happened without the knowledge of the Syrian president, that he has responsibility and should be held accountable.”
The arguments against Assad and others were supported by in-depth analyses of the Syrian military command system and first-hand eyewitness accounts.
In 2013, activists posted amateur videos on YouTube that sparked a wave of outrage around the world. The videos allegedly show the aftermath of the attack, including footage of dozens of dead bodies, many of them children prostrate on the ground. Other footage shows unconscious children, people foaming at the mouth and doctors apparently giving them oxygen to help them breathe. A UN report later said there was clear evidence that sarin gas had been used.
Le Monde reporters were present in Damascus during these chemical attacks in 2013, gave first-hand accounts of the Assad government’s use of the weapon and brought back samples.
In 2013 Syria agreed to join the worldwide Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and give up all chemical weapons. Since then, the OPCW has accused Damascus of a series of chemical attacks during the civil war. The Syrian government denies the allegations, which have also sparked lawsuits in Germany and other European countries.
Syria’s civil war began in 2011 after Assad’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrations escalated into a deadly conflict involving foreign powers and global jihadists. The war has killed more than half a million people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population.
