French Prosecutor Challenges Arrest Warrant Against Bashar Assad

The Office of the Prosecutor at the Paris Court of Appeals announced today, Tuesday, that it has referred to the Court of Cassation to "settle a legal matter" concerning the arrest warrant against Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is accused of complicity in crimes against humanity in chemical attacks in 2013 in Syria. The prosecutor's office stated that it considers, "without questioning the substance of the case, particularly the existence of serious or established evidence against Bashar Assad that makes his involvement plausible" in these deadly attacks, that "it is necessary for the highest judicial court to consider the position taken by the investigating chamber of the Paris Court of Appeals regarding the issue of personal immunity for a sitting head of state for crimes of this nature."