French investigative judges have issued arrest warrants against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two of his aides, on charges of using prohibited chemical weapons against civilians in the city of Douma and the Eastern Ghouta region in 2013, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 people. The investigation into the case was opened in March 2021 based on a criminal complaint filed by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM) and Syrian victims, relying on testimonies from survivors of the August 2013 attacks. The complaint was supported by the Syrian Archive, the Open Society Justice Initiative, and the Civil Rights Defenders organization, which joined the investigation as civil parties, along with members of the Association of Victims of Chemical Weapons (AVCW).
Who are the officers included in the arrest warrants? In addition to President Bashar al-Assad, the warrants also included his brother Maher al-Assad, commander of the Fourth Division, Brigadier General Ghassan Abbas, director of "Branch 450" at the "Scientific Studies and Research Center," and Brigadier General Bassam Hassan, the president's advisor on strategic affairs and liaison officer between the presidential palace and the “Scientific Research Center,” according to the Syrian Center.
These arrest warrants indicate legal qualifications for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes. This judicial action by French investigators follows a criminal investigation conducted by the specialized unit for crimes against humanity and war crimes at the Paris judicial court into the chemical weapon attacks in August 2013. Courts can use the principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction to investigate horrific international crimes committed on foreign territory and prosecute their perpetrators under certain conditions.
In other Syrian cases, the specialized unit for crimes against humanity and war crimes at the Paris court has previously issued seven arrest warrants in various cases against seven other senior officials in the Syrian regime, including one against Ali Mamlouk, head of the "National Security Bureau," in March. In October 2020, the Open Society Justice Initiative, the Syrian Archive, and the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression filed a similar complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor's Office regarding the sarin attacks carried out by military forces in Ghouta in 2013 and in Khan Sheikhoun in 2017. A further legal complaint was filed in Sweden in April 2021 by the three organizations, alongside the Civil Rights Defenders organization. The French, German, and Swedish complaints collectively include evidence from the most detailed investigations conducted into these attacks to date.
