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4d ago

France’s Highest Court Annuls Assad Arrest Warrant, Opens Path for New War Crime Charges

Reaffirming that presidential immunity covers official acts, France’s highest court paved the way for new war crime arrest warrants now that Assad no longer holds the presidency.

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2010 file photo, then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad addresses reporters at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)
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Overview

  • The Cour de Cassation overturned the November 2023 universal-jurisdiction warrant against Bashar al-Assad for the 2013 sarin attacks, citing absolute immunity for sitting heads of state.
  • Presiding Judge Christophe Soulard declared that international custom affords no exceptions to personal immunity for wartime acts committed during a leader’s term in office.
  • With Assad deposed in December 2024 and exiled to Russia, the ruling allows prosecutors to issue fresh arrest warrants for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  • French investigators marshaled survivor and military defector testimonies, alongside photographic and video evidence, to establish a command link between Assad and the chemical attacks.
  • Human rights lawyers decried the decision as a missed opportunity for justice and vowed to seek new warrants and trials in France and other jurisdictions.