Paris Court Upholds Arrest Warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

A Paris court upheld an arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his alleged use of banned chemical weapons against civilians. The charges include complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes. The verdict challenges the notion of immunity for sitting heads of state in cases of severe international crimes.

An arrest warrant issued for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians was upheld by a Paris court on Wednesday, one of the lawyers who lodged the initial case said. The warrant issued by French judges in November 2023 refers to charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes, followed a French investigation into chemical attacks in Douma and the district of Eastern Ghouta in August 2013, attacks which killed more than 1,000 people.

Prosecutors, who would be responsible for asking the police to enact the warrant, had challenged its validity, arguing that, as a sitting head of state, Assad was immune from trial and prosecution in France. "Today is a very special day and this is a historic victory, not only for the Syrian victims, but for all the victims around the world," said Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media & Freedom of the Press.

"The court's decision confirms what we have always said – that when the issue concerns crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the use of chemical weapons, immunity should never be relied upon." Assad's government has denied using chemical weapons against its opponents in the civil war, which broke out in March 2011. Syrian authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday's Court of Appeal ruling.

Arrest warrants for sitting heads of state are rare because they generally have immunity from prosecution. However, international law has exceptions to that immunity when a head of state is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity or genocide. France is among the countries that allows the filing of crimes against humanity cases in its courts.

"This decision makes clear that international rules on immunity cannot be synonymous with impunity, particularly for the most serious international crimes," Steve Kostas, senior legal officer at Open Society Justice initiative, said in reaction to the verdict.

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