French justice requests to maintain arrest warrant for ex-Syrian leader Assad over chemical attacks accusations

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Attorney General at the French Court of Cassation, Remy Heitz, on Friday requested that the arrest warrant issued against Bashar al-Assad for complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria be upheld, Le Orient du Journal reported.

During a plenary session, the court reviewed the warrant targeting Assad for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes tied to chemical attacks in Adra, Douma and Eastern Ghouta in August 2013, which left more than 1,000 people dead.

The warrant, issued by Paris investigative judges in November 2023, was previously validated by the Paris Court of Appeal in June 2024, ruling that such acts "cannot be considered part of the official duties of a head of state."

The final decision will be announced in a public hearing on July 25.

The court also examined an appeal by former Syrian Central Bank governor Adib Mayaleh, indicted in France for complicity in war crimes. Advocate General Sonia Djemni-Wagner recommended rejecting his immunity claim.

Assad fled Syria for Moscow in December 2024 when the regime collapsed.