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French Supreme Court Overturns Assad Arrest Warrant and Upholds Head-of-State Immunity

French judges can now seek fresh warrants against Bashar al-Assad following his deposition

La Cour de cassation a annulé le mandat d’arrêt dont faisait l’objet le président syrien Bachar el-Assad depuis novembre 2023 (image d’illustration).
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Un poster du président syrien déchu Bachar Al Assad criblé de balles, en décembre 2024 à Alep. Le mandat d’arrêt le visant a été annulé par la Cour de cassation, vendredi 25 juillet 2025.
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Overview

  • The Cour de cassation annulled the November 2023 arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad on grounds that personal immunity shields a serving head of state from foreign prosecution.
  • The warrant had charged Assad with complicity in the August 2013 sarin attacks on Adra, Douma and Eastern Ghouta that U.S. intelligence says killed over 1,000 people and injured around 450.
  • In a landmark move, the court recognized an exception to functional immunity by validating the indictment of Adib Mayaleh, former Syrian central bank governor and economy minister, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
  • The Parquet national antiterroriste and the parquet général initially opposed the warrant on immunity grounds, but the Paris Court of Appeal upheld it in June 2024 before it was appealed to the Cour de cassation.
  • Since Assad’s deposition in December 2024, French judges are now free to issue new arrest warrants against him for war crimes and crimes against humanity.