The Paris appeals court concluded on Wednesday that France’s international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad, issued for alleged culpability in war crimes during Syria’s civil war, is still legitimate and in effect, according to lawyers.
Lawyers Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt, who represented the plaintiffs and non-governmental groups who brought the complaint against the Syrian president in France, lauded the verdict as a historic ruling and “a giant step forward in the fight against impunity.”
Assad has complete immunity as a sitting head of state, according to French anti-terrorism prosecutors, who petitioned the Paris appeals court to declare in favor of withdrawing the arrest order for him in May.
For alleged involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, French legal authorities filed international arrest warrants for Assad last November.
The warrants were also issued for his brother Maher Assad, the commander of the 4th Armored Division, and two Syrian generals, Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan.
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