PARIS: The first trial in France of officials of the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad is to begin on Tuesday, with three top security officers to be tried in absentia for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Paris Criminal Court will try the three officials for their role in the deaths of two French Syrian men, Mazzen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, arrested in Damascus in 2013.
“For the first time, French courts will address the crimes of the Syrian authorities, and will try the most senior members of the authorities to ever be prosecuted since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in March 2011,” said the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
The war between Assad’s regime and armed opposition groups, including Daesh, erupted after the government repressed peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011.
The conflict has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and ravaged Syria’s economy and infrastructure.
Trials into the abuses of the Syrian regime have taken place elsewhere in Europe, notably in Germany.
But in those cases, the people prosecuted held lower ranks and were present at the hearings.
Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Bureau, Jamil Hassan, former director of the Air Force intelligence service, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, former head of investigations for the service in Damascus, are subject to international arrest warrants and will be tried in absentia.
Scheduled to last four days, the hearings will be filmed.
War crimes
At the time of the arrest, Patrick Dabbagh was a 20-year-old student in his second year of arts and humanities at the University of Damascus. His father Mazzen worked as a senior education adviser at the French high school in Damascus.
The two were arrested in November 2013 by officers who claimed to belong to the Syrian Air Force intelligence service.
“Witness testimony confirms that Mazzen and Patrick Abdelkader were both taken to a detention center at Mezzeh Military Airport, which is run by Syrian Air Force Intelligence and notorious for the use of brutal torture,” the International Federation for Human Rights said, stressing that the pair were not involved in protests against the Assad regime.
They were declared dead in 2018. The family was formally notified that Patrick died on 21 January 2014. His father Mazzen died nearly four years later, on 25 November 2017.
In the committal order, the investigating judges said that it was “sufficiently established” that the two men “like thousands of detainees of the Air Force intelligence suffered torture of such intensity that they died.”
During the probe, French investigators and the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), a non-governmental organization, collected accounts of torture and mistreatment at the Mezzeh prison, including the use of electric shocks and sexual violence, from dozens of witnesses including former detainees.
Lawyer Clemence Bectarte, who represents the Dabbagh family and the International Federation for Human Rights, said the trial was a new reminder that “under no circumstances” should relations with the Assad regime be normalized.
“We tend to forget that the regime’s crimes are still being committed today,” she said.
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France begins its first war crime trial of Syrian officials
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France begins its first war crime trial of Syrian officials
- The Paris Criminal Court will try the three officials for their role in the deaths of two French Syrian men
In Puerto Rico, fans thrilled with Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show
- In the town square in Vega Baja, a small municipality near Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan, retired teacher Madeline Miranda was bubbling with excitement after watching Bad Bunny perform at the Super
VEGA BAJA: In the town square in Vega Baja, a small municipality near Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan, retired teacher Madeline Miranda was bubbling with excitement after watching Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl.
After all, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio was once one of her former students, and years away from becoming a global superstar.
“I danced, I screamed, I swore and I gave it my all,” said the 75-year-old Miranda, who joined about 100 other people to watch the performance by Vega Baja’s most famous native son.
People of all ages turned out, many of them bringing beach chairs — and drinks — to wait for the big moment.
Vega Baja is not exactly a place where American football is all that popular, and few of those present really paid attention to the game, which the Seattle Seahawks won over the New England Patriots.
Bad Bunny was the only show in town.
When he finally appeared on screen singing one of his biggest hits, “Titi Me Pregunto,” the crowd shrieked with joy. Some waved Puerto Rican flags and others clapped.
The party had begun.
“I feel so proud that someone from Vega Baja has reached such heights. This shows that our presence is growing stronger in the United States and around the world,” David Fontanez, a 66-year-old retiree, told AFP.
Other watch parties took place in Old San Juan.
’Great inspiration’
Bad Bunny’s performance celebrated Puerto Rico, a US island territory in the Caribbean — from the lyrics of his songs to his set design featuring sugar cane and his salmon-colored “La Casita” (little house). Fans cheered each reference.
He also made history as the first Super Bowl headliner to sing entirely in Spanish. A week ago, he became the first performer to win the Grammy for Album of the Year for a Spanish-language work.
For 14-year-old Pedro Melendez Barrio, the singer is a “great inspiration” for those who live in Vega Baja.
“He makes me feel very proud and also very happy. I think that if he has achieved all this, I can achieve this too. That really motivates me.”
Many said they were grateful to the 31-year-old Bad Bunny for championing his homeland.
Last year, he completed a wildly successful concert residency in San Juan, giving the island a major economic boost as fans flocked to see him.
“He brought to the Super Bowl the essence of what we, Puerto Ricans, are,” said Miranda, who remembers young Benito as a “very quiet and disciplined” child.
“He’s a great ambassador for this community.”
Some Puerto Ricans made mention of the conservative backlash that Bad Bunny faced after he was named as the halftime show headliner, largely due to the fact that he sings in Spanish.
Indeed, after the show, US President Donald Trump suggested that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
But most said what was more important was Bad Bunny’s ability to amplify the voice of Puerto Ricans, who are US citizens but do not have the right to vote for president.
“He has reflected a lot of our culture (in his work), what’s happening in Puerto Rico, and the situation of immigrants,” Madeline Garcia, 31, said after the show.
“We ignore the controversy because, whether they like it or not, we’re also part of the United States. And even if our language is Spanish, most Puerto Ricans speak English.”
After all, Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio was once one of her former students, and years away from becoming a global superstar.
“I danced, I screamed, I swore and I gave it my all,” said the 75-year-old Miranda, who joined about 100 other people to watch the performance by Vega Baja’s most famous native son.
People of all ages turned out, many of them bringing beach chairs — and drinks — to wait for the big moment.
Vega Baja is not exactly a place where American football is all that popular, and few of those present really paid attention to the game, which the Seattle Seahawks won over the New England Patriots.
Bad Bunny was the only show in town.
When he finally appeared on screen singing one of his biggest hits, “Titi Me Pregunto,” the crowd shrieked with joy. Some waved Puerto Rican flags and others clapped.
The party had begun.
“I feel so proud that someone from Vega Baja has reached such heights. This shows that our presence is growing stronger in the United States and around the world,” David Fontanez, a 66-year-old retiree, told AFP.
Other watch parties took place in Old San Juan.
’Great inspiration’
Bad Bunny’s performance celebrated Puerto Rico, a US island territory in the Caribbean — from the lyrics of his songs to his set design featuring sugar cane and his salmon-colored “La Casita” (little house). Fans cheered each reference.
He also made history as the first Super Bowl headliner to sing entirely in Spanish. A week ago, he became the first performer to win the Grammy for Album of the Year for a Spanish-language work.
For 14-year-old Pedro Melendez Barrio, the singer is a “great inspiration” for those who live in Vega Baja.
“He makes me feel very proud and also very happy. I think that if he has achieved all this, I can achieve this too. That really motivates me.”
Many said they were grateful to the 31-year-old Bad Bunny for championing his homeland.
Last year, he completed a wildly successful concert residency in San Juan, giving the island a major economic boost as fans flocked to see him.
“He brought to the Super Bowl the essence of what we, Puerto Ricans, are,” said Miranda, who remembers young Benito as a “very quiet and disciplined” child.
“He’s a great ambassador for this community.”
Some Puerto Ricans made mention of the conservative backlash that Bad Bunny faced after he was named as the halftime show headliner, largely due to the fact that he sings in Spanish.
Indeed, after the show, US President Donald Trump suggested that “nobody understands a word this guy is saying.”
But most said what was more important was Bad Bunny’s ability to amplify the voice of Puerto Ricans, who are US citizens but do not have the right to vote for president.
“He has reflected a lot of our culture (in his work), what’s happening in Puerto Rico, and the situation of immigrants,” Madeline Garcia, 31, said after the show.
“We ignore the controversy because, whether they like it or not, we’re also part of the United States. And even if our language is Spanish, most Puerto Ricans speak English.”
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