French court issues ruling in favor of the former Syrian president Bashar al Assad
France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, issued a long-awaited ruling on Friday to overturn the arrest warrant issued against former Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
The memorandum accused Assad of launching chemical attacks in 2013, killing more than 1,000 people and injuring hundreds, in the Eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, according to US intelligence, sarin gas was used in these attacks, which occurred in August 2013.
French authorities issued an arrest warrant against Assad in November 2023, accusing him of “complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
Although the Syrian government denied involvement in the attacks and blamed opposition fighters, France opened a comprehensive investigation based on the testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photographic and video evidence.
In this case, the French judiciary relied on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows courts to prosecute those accused of committing serious crimes regardless of where they occurred.
Prosecutors initially approved three arrest warrants for Assad, his brother Maher, and the generals involved, but appealed the warrants against Assad, arguing that he should enjoy immunity as a head of state.
In June of last year, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the arrest warrants, but prosecutors appealed again, prompting the Court of Cassation to overturn the warrant today.
Its noteworthy that Assad and his family currently reside in exile in the Russian capital, Moscow, after President Vladimir Putin granted them asylum following the advance of opposition forces in Damascus in 2024.
Although the arrest warrant has been cancelled, investigating judges in France reserve the right to issue new warrants if new evidence becomes available.
