French court confirms arrest warrant against Syria’s al-Assad

PARIS

The Paris appeals court has ruled that an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued by France for alleged complicity in war crimes during Syria’s civil war is valid and remains in place, lawyers have said.

Laywers Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt, lawyers hailed the decision as a historic judgment and “a giant step forward in the fight against impunity.”

In May, French anti-terrorism prosecutors asked the Paris appeals court to rule on lifting the arrest warrant for al-Assad, saying he has absolute immunity as a serving head of state.

“It’s the first time that a national court has recognized that the personal immunity of a serving head of state is not absolute,” the lawyers told The Associated Press.

French judicial authorities issued international arrest warrants last November for al-Assad's, his brother, the commander of the fourth Armored Division and two Syrian generals for alleged complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. They included a 2013 chemical attack on then opposition-held Damascus suburbs.

The four individuals named in the arrest warrants can be arrested and brought to France for questioning while the investigation into the 2013 attacks in Eastern Ghouta and Douma continues, the lawyers said.

While al-Assad is unlikely to face trial in France, international warrants for a serving world leader are very rare and send a strong message about al-Assad’s leadership at a time when some countries have welcomed him back into the diplomatic fold.

More than 1,000 people were killed and thousands were injured in the August 2013 attacks on Douma and Eastern Ghouta.