France’s Top Court Annuls Arrest Warrant for Former Syrian President Assad

AP

Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

France’s highest court on Friday annulled an arrest warrant against former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over his alleged involvement in deadly 2013 chemical attacks, ruling that heads of state enjoy absolute immunity — even in cases involving war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Court of Cassation, France’s supreme judicial authority, said there were no exceptions to presidential immunity under international law. The warrant, originally issued in November 2023, related to sarin gas attacks in the Damascus suburbs of Adra and Douma that killed more than 1,000 people, according to U.S. intelligence.

Assad was accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the chain of command that authorised the chemical attacks. Syrian authorities denied any involvement and blamed rebel forces for the attacks.

Human rights advocates had hoped the court would break new ground by ruling that immunity does not apply in cases of such gravity. Such a decision would have set a significant precedent in international justice, potentially opening the door to prosecuting sitting heads of state for mass atrocities.

Presiding judge Christophe Soulard noted that Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 by an Islamist-led group, no longer enjoys presidential immunity. “New arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him,” Soulard said, indicating that the investigation remains ongoing.

The French judiciary pursued the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to investigate and prosecute individuals accused of serious international crimes — such as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes — regardless of where they were committed.

The investigation, based on survivor testimonies, defectors, and visual evidence, led to arrest warrants for Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad — commander of the elite Fourth Armoured Division — and two senior Syrian generals. While prosecutors endorsed three of the warrants, they appealed the one targeting Assad, citing his head-of-state immunity.

In June 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the warrant against Assad, prompting prosecutors to appeal again — ultimately leading to Friday’s ruling by the Court of Cassation.

Separately, French magistrates in January 2025 issued a second arrest warrant for Assad over alleged complicity in war crimes relating to a 2017 bombing in Deraa that killed a French-Syrian civilian.

Following his ouster, Assad and his family reportedly fled to Russia, according to Russian officials.

Article was originally published by FRANCE 24.



PUKMEDIA