PARIS: The Paris appeals court ruled on Wednesday that an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad issued by France for alleged complicity in war crimes during Syria’s civil war is valid and remains in place.
Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt, lawyers who represented the plaintiffs, and non-governmental organizations behind the complaint hailed the decision as a historic judgment.
In May, French anti-terrorism prosecutors asked the Paris appeals court to rule on lifting the arrest warrant for Assad, saying he has absolute immunity as a serving head of state.
“It’s the first time that a national court has recognized that the personal immunity of a serving head of state is not absolute,” the lawyers said in a statement.
French judicial authorities issued international arrest warrants last November for Assad; his brother Maher Assad, the commander of the 4th Armored Division; and two Syrian generals, Ghassan Abbas and Bassam Al-Hassan, for alleged complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity. They include a 2013 chemical attack on then opposition-held Damascus suburbs.
Victims of the attack welcomed France’s decision to issue arrest warrants as a reminder of the horrors of Syria’s civil war.
The prosecutors did not challenge the warrants for Assad’s brother and the two generals during a closed hearing on the issue on May 15.
International arrest warrants for a serving head of state are very rare and the decision by the Paris court to issue one for the Syrian president represented a strong criticism of Assad’s leadership at a time when some countries were welcoming him back into the diplomatic fold.
More than 1,000 people were killed and thousands were injured in the August 2013 attacks on Douma and Eastern Ghouta.
The investigation into the attacks has been conducted under universal jurisdiction in France by a special unit of the Paris Judicial Court. It was opened in 2021 in response to a criminal complaint by the survivors, and filed by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression.
Assad’s government was widely deemed by the international community to be responsible for the sarin gas attack in the then-opposition-held Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta. The Syrian government and its allies have denied responsibility and said the attack was carried out by opposition forces trying to push for foreign military intervention.
The United States threatened military retaliation in the aftermath of the attack, with then-President Barack Obama saying use of chemical weapons by Assad would be Washington’s “red line.” However, the US public and Congress were wary of a new war, as invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq had turned into quagmires.
Washington settled for a deal with Moscow for Syria to give up its chemical weapons stockpile.
Syria says it eliminated its chemical arsenal under the 2013 agreement. However, watchdog groups have continued to allege chemical attacks by Syrian government forces since then.
Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court, meaning the court does not have jurisdiction there. However, human rights lawyers in the past have urged prosecutors to open an investigation into crimes during the country’s civil war, arguing that the court could exercise jurisdiction over Syrian civilians forced into Jordan, which is a member of the court.
So far, the court has not opened an investigation.
In a separate case, a Paris court last month sentenced three high-ranking Syrian officials in absentia to life in prison for complicity in war crimes in a landmark case against Assad’s government and the first such case in Europe.
Paris court upholds validity of France’s arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad
https://arab.news/8sr4u
Paris court upholds validity of France’s arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad
- Jeanne Sulzer and Clemence Witt, lawyers who represented the plaintiffs, and NGOs behind the complaint hailed the decision as a historic judgment
- “It’s the first time that a national court has recognized that the personal immunity of a serving head of state is not absolute,” the lawyers said
Blacklisted naphtha tanker from Russia enters Venezuelan waters while another diverts, ship data shows
- Under U.S. sanctions related to Russia, the ship has a different sanctions profile than Skipper, the tanker that was seized by the U.S. on December 10
HOUSTON: A tanker subject to U.S. sanctions carrying some 300,000 barrels of naphtha from Russia entered Venezuelan waters late on Thursday, while another began redirecting course in the Atlantic Ocean, ship tracking data showed, a reflection of diverging last-minute decisions by ship owners after President Donald Trump ordered a "blockade" of oil tankers under sanctions bound for the OPEC country earlier this week.
The move ramped up pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by targeting the country's main source of income and followed the seizure by the U.S. of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela earlier in December.
Vessels that were not subject to sanctions began setting sail on Wednesday from Venezuelan waters after a week's pause, helping drain the country's mounting crude stocks.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Trump's 'blockade' aims to halt sanctioned oil tankers to Venezuela
• Hyperion's sanctions profile differs from seized Skipper tanker
• Venezuela condemns US actions as violating international law
Gambia-flagged medium tanker Hyperion docked on Friday at Amuay Bay on Venezuela's western coast, according to LSEG ship tracking data. It loaded near Murmansk in Russia in late November.
Under U.S. sanctions related to Russia, the ship has a different sanctions profile than Skipper, the tanker that was seized by the U.S. on December 10.
The U.S. can only seize vessels outside of its jurisdiction, or vessels that aren't heading to or from the country, if Washington has placed them under sanctions for links to groups it designates as terrorist, said David Tannenbaum, a director at consulting firm Blackstone Compliance Services that specializes in sanctions and anti-money laundering compliance.
Skipper, formerly called the Adisa, was under sanctions for what the U.S. says was involvement in Iranian oil trading that generated revenue for Iranian groups it has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
With the Hyperion, though, sanctions were imposed to reduce Russian revenues from energy because of its war with Ukraine.
"The Hyperion doesn't have known ties to terrorism, and therefore unless they can prove it's subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., Washington can't grab it extraterritorially," said Tannenbaum, who previously worked with the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control that administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions.
REDIRECTS AND U-TURNS
The Angola-flagged Agate, another medium tanker under sanctions that loaded in Russia and had been sailing toward the Caribbean, was seen redirecting on Friday, according to LSEG ship tracking. The vessel was pointing towards Africa, but had not yet signaled a new destination.
Oman-flagged Garnet, also under sanctions and loaded in Russia, continued on its track, signaling the Caribbean as its destination on Friday.
Benin-flagged tanker Boltaris, under sanctions and carrying some 300,000 barrels of Russian naphtha bound for Venezuela, made a U-turn earlier this month and was heading for Europe without having discharged, according to LSEG vessel monitoring data.
Two very large crude carriers not subject to sanctions set sail for China on Thursday from Venezuela, according to sources familiar with Venezuela's oil export operations, marking only the second and third tankers unrelated to Chevron to depart the country since the U.S. seized Skipper.
The American oil major, which has continued to ship Venezuelan crude under a U.S. authorization, exported a crude cargo on Thursday bound for the U.S., LSEG data showed.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said the U.S. was not concerned about the four vessels that sailed from Venezuela on Thursday, as those were not ships under sanctions.
"Sanctioned boats, we have the capabilities necessary to enforce our laws. We'll have a judicial order, we'll execute on those orders and there's nothing that will impede us from being able to do that," Rubio said.
Venezuela's government called Trump's blockade a "grotesque threat" in a statement on Tuesday, saying it violates international law, free commerce and the right of free navigation.
