Over the past years, the French judiciary has issued arrest warrants against high-ranking Syrian officials on allegations of committing war crimes.
The arrest warrants came as a result of Syrians and human rights organizations filing a criminal complaint against officials before the French judiciary, related to serious violations and the use of chemical weapons.
Since 2018, the French judiciary has issued arrest warrants against 11 high-ranking Syrian officials:
The Syrian President and his brother, Major General Maher al Assad
Investigating judges in France issued an international arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his brother, Major General Maher al Assad.
The Paris Judicial Court opened an investigation in 2021 into the Syrian army’s use of internationally banned weapons during its attack on the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta.
This is based on a criminal complaint filed by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), and based on the allegations of testimonies of survivors of the chemical attack.
Brigadier General Ghassan Abbas, who is an officer with the rank of brigadier general and takes over the management of Branch 450 at the Scientific Research Center in the Jamraya area near Damascus.
The United States imposed sanctions on Abbas due to accusations of his involvement in the use of chemical weapons.
Major General Bassam al Hassan, who is from the village of Shin in the Homs countryside and holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Damascus.
Sanctions were imposed on him because he is a supervisor of Unit 450 of scientific research, which is responsible for protecting chemical weapons in Syria.
Britain, the United States, the European Union and Canada also imposed economic sanctions on him.
France also issued an arrest warrant against him.
Major General Ali Mamlouk; Born in Damascus in 1949.
He assumed the head of the Investigation Branch in Air Force Intelligence, and rose through the ranks until assuming its management between the years 2003-2005.
He served as Director of Syrian General Intelligence, then in 2012 he became head of the National Security Office, the highest security body in Syria, and he remains in this position to this day.
The United States imposed sanctions on Major General Ali Mamlouk.
A French arrest warrant was issued against Mamlouk due to accusations of his responsibility for the arrest of Mazen al Dabbagh and his son Patrick in Damascus in 2013.
Major General Jamil Hassan, from the village of al Qarnia in Homs Governorate in 1952, and joined the Military College in 1972 with a specialization in air defense.
Hassan rose through the military ranks and was appointed in 2009 as Director of the Air Force Intelligence Department, succeeding Major General Abdel Fattah Qudsiyeh.
He remained in the Air Force Intelligence Department until 2019.
He is one of the first regime figures against whom international arrest warrants were issued, in June 2018.
France issued an arrest warrant against Hassan in the case of Mazen al Dabbagh and his son Patrick, who are Syrian citizens with French citizenship, and who lived in the capital, Damascus, and carried out their work there before their arrest.
Brigadier General Abdel Salam Mahmoud; Born in the town of al Foua in the Idlib countryside in 1959, and graduated from the Faculty of Law in Damascus in 1983, before joining the military service with the rank of lieutenant and being sorted into the investigation branch of the Air Force Intelligence Department.
The former Director of the Air Force Intelligence Department Office was Major General Muhammad al Khouli, before he headed the Air Force Intelligence Branch in the Southern Region in 2010.
He was then promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and then became head of the Investigation Branch in the Air Intelligence Department, located at the Mezzeh Military Airport.
Abdel Salam’s name was among the names against whom France issued an arrest warrant in the case of Mazen al Dabbagh and his son Patrick.
General Fahd Jassim al Freij; Born in the eastern countryside of Hama in 1950.
He graduated from the Military Corps with a specialty in armored vehicles in 1971.
He was appointed in 2005 as Deputy Chief of Staff, before being promoted to the rank of General in 2009.
After the assassination of Defense Minister Daoud Rajha in 2012, al Freij was appointed Minister of Defense and remained in his position until 2018.
General Ali Abdullah Ayoub; Born in the city of Latakia in April 1954, and joined the Military College in October 1971, specializing in armored vehicles.
After entering the military corps in the Syrian army, Ayoub was appointed to the rank of probationary lieutenant, two years after joining the Military College, in 1973.
Ayoub served in the ranks of the First Division in Lebanon in 1982, then joined the ranks of the Republican Guard, until he reached the command of the 103rd Brigade, after which he was appointed commander of the Fourth Armored Division, and after that he assumed command of the First Corps.
The French judiciary had issued international arrest warrants against al Frej, Abdullah Ayoub, Baloul, and al Saftli, accusing them of being responsible for the bombing of Dara’a in 2017, which led to the death of a French-Syrian civilian.
Saftli holds the position of Commander of the Southern Unified Control Center with the rank of Major General, and in 2017 he assumed the position of Commander of the 64th Helicopter Brigade at Bli military Airport, south of Damascus.
Major General Ali al Saftli Last month, France issued an arrest warrant against Daloul, accusing him of being responsible for the bombing of Dara’a in 2017, which led to the death of a French-Syrian civilian, Salah Abu Nabout.
He has been the Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense in Syria since 2012.
