Paris Court Upholds Assad Arrest Warrant in Landmark War Crimes Ruling

The Paris appeals court has ruled that an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad, issued for alleged complicity in war crimes during Syria's civil war, is valid. This decision marks a historic judgment, challenging the norm of absolute immunity for serving heads of state.

In a historic ruling, the Paris appeals court has upheld an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad, citing alleged complicity in war crimes committed during Syria's civil war. The decision, praised by plaintiff lawyers Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt, signals a groundbreaking judgment against the notion of absolute immunity for serving heads of state.

French anti-terrorism prosecutors had previously sought to lift the arrest warrant on grounds of Assad's immunity as a serving head of state. However, French judicial authorities had initially issued the warrants last November, implicating Assad, his brother Maher Assad, and two Syrian generals in crimes against humanity, including a deadly 2013 chemical attack on Damascus suburbs.

Welcomed by war victims, the warrant serves as a grim reminder of Syria's civil war atrocities. The investigation, led since 2021 under France's universal jurisdiction, presented a stern critique of Assad's leadership amid a backdrop of international diplomatic normalization efforts toward Syria.

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