The French Casual Court annulled the arrest warrant on Friday, which France issued in 2023 at the meantime deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad For his alleged participation in the attack by chemical weapons in Syria in 2013. According to him, the arrest warrant is invalid because the court issued it at a time when Assad was the head of state and had international diplomatic immunity, which cannot be canceled. TASR reports this based on AFP and Reuters reports.
“International habits do not allow any exception to the personal immunity of the head of a foreign state for the entire term of its term of office, even if it is alleged genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity,” stated in the justification of the Casual Court.
However, the chairman of Judge Christophe Soulard added that As Assad is no longer a president, new arrest warrants may be issued and the case investigating the case could continue. The decision of the cassation court is canceling the verdict of the Paris Court of Appeal, which decided last year that the arrest warrant is valid. Its validity was questioned by the prosecutor’s office, which would have to ask the police to carry out the arrest warrant.
Mariana Penová, lawyer of the Open Society Justice Initiative, who helped to collect evidence against Assad, described the court’s decision as a “missed opportunity to achieve justice”. She appreciated, however, that the verdict leaves the open door for Assad’s criminal prosecution, as it is no longer in office.
French justice issued a warrant for Assad in November 2023 based on the investigation of the use of chemical weapons in the attacks In the city of Dúma and the Eastern Ghut region in August 2013, which killed more than 1000 people. The then Government of President Assad denied that in the civil war, which began in 2011, chemical weapons were used, and their deployment was accused by insurgents.
The French judiciary has been dealing with the case since 2021 on the basis of the principle of universal jurisdiction, according to which the court can prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries. The investigation based on the testimonies of survivors and the ranks, as well as the photos and videos, led to the release of arrest warrants to Assad, his brother Máhira, who commanded the elite army unit, and two generals.
In January 2025, another arrest warrant was issued in France for suspicion of participation in war crimes In connection with the bombing of the city Dara in 2017, in which the Syrian of French origin died.
