Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks at a press conference with the Iraqi Prime Minister on July 16, Damascus, Syria/Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images
2023.11.16 Thu posted at 10:12 JST
Paris (CNN) French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for four people, including President Bashar al-Assad, on suspicion of using banned chemical weapons against civilians in Syria. A judicial source revealed this to CNN on the 15th.
Sources said that on the 14th, judicial authorities issued arrest warrants for Assad, his brother Maher Assad, and two senior officials on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
It is believed to be the first time that a state has issued an arrest warrant for another state’s sitting head of state for crimes against humanity. One of the plaintiffs’ lawyers told CNN that an Interpol International Arrest Wanted Book is also expected to be issued.
A wanted letter requests law enforcement agencies around the world to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person, pending his or her extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Something to do.
According to a statement issued by the Syrian Center for Freedom of Media and Expression (SCM) and other plaintiffs on Tuesday, President Bashar al-Assad and others were arrested in Douma and Eastern Ghouta areas near the Syrian capital Damascus in August 2013. It is suspected that chemical weapons were used. The plaintiffs allege that the attack killed more than 1,000 civilians.
The Syrian government was accused of using poison gas in Ghouta. At the time, Ghouta was a rebel stronghold, and the Assad regime had been desperately trying to retake it for more than a year.
Lawyer Mazen Darwish, founder and executive director of SCM, said in a statement that the issuance of the arrest warrant “sets a historic precedent in the judiciary.”
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2023-11-16 01:12:00
