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.
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Paris court upholds validity of France’s arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad
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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
Japan PM’s big election win could mean more beef with Beijing
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s thumping election win has blunted domestic opposition to her hawkish security agenda, encouraging plans to press ahead with a defense expansion that China has condemned as a return to militarism. As the scale of her government’s historic victory became clear on Sunday — capturing 352 of the 465 seats in the lower house — Takaichi said she would “work flat out to deliver” an agenda that includes building a military strong enough to deter Chinese threats to its islands, including those close to Taiwan. In November, Takaichi touched off a diplomatic storm with Beijing by suggesting Japan could respond militarily to any Chinese attack on the democratically governed island if it also threatened Japanese territory.
STANDING UP TO CHINA
“I expect to see Japan very forward-leaning on defense policy, such as her statements on a Taiwan contingency,” said Kevin Maher, a former US diplomat now with NMV Consulting in Washington. “One impact could be that President Xi Jinping comes to understand her strong stance,” he added.
China
responded furiously
to Takaichi’s Taiwan comment, promising to “resolutely prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism” if Tokyo continued on its “wrong path.” Beijing also imposed a series of economic countermeasures including a boycott on travel to Japan and export restrictions on items such as rare earths it says Tokyo could use in military equipment.
Shingo Yamagami, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and a former Japanese ambassador to Australia, said the “hidden agenda” of the Sunday election was China.
“In light of belligerent actions and waves of economic coercion, should Japan acquiesce or stand tall?” he wrote on X. “The Japanese people clearly chose the latter.”
Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Japan, Lee Yi-yang, was among the first foreign dignitaries to congratulate Takaichi, writing on Facebook that her victory showed Japan was not intimidated by China’s “threats and pressure.”
China’s foreign ministry on Monday again
urged Takaichi
to withdraw her remarks on Taiwan and said its policy toward Japan would not be changed by one election.
“We urge Japan’s ruling authorities to take seriously, rather than ignore, the concerns of the international community, and to pursue the path of peaceful development instead of repeating the mistakes of militarism,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
SECURITY STRATEGY Takaichi, a fan of Britain’s former leader Margaret Thatcher, is already accelerating defense spending to bring it to a record 2 percent of gross domestic product by the end of March. She has also pledged to ease restrictions on arms exports and allow Japan to pursue joint defense equipment projects with other countries.
Her administration plans to formulate a new national security strategy, likely by year end, that would further accelerate military spending.
That could lift defense outlays to around 3 percent of GDP, an LDP lawmaker told Reuters ahead of Sunday’s election, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding such a move.
The potential increase would follow pressure from US President Donald Trump on Washington’s allies to raise defense spending.
Drawing lessons from nearly four years of war in Ukraine, Japan wants to build up munitions stockpiles and buy new equipment, including drones, to prepare for any prolonged conflict against a more powerful adversary, analysts say. The scale of Takaichi’s security ambitions could, however, be constrained by tax cuts and economic stimulus measures that would strain public finances, said Jeffrey Hornung, an expert on Japanese security policy at the RAND Corporation.
“Maybe you’ll see an effort to spend more, but because of her plans to spend on consumer measures, they may not choose to push much further,” he said.
The landslide victory could also bring a long-taboo security goal into view, one that would not burden public finances.
With more than a two-thirds majority in the lower house, she could table an amendment to Japan’s pacifist constitution to formally recognize the Self-Defense Forces as a military. Any such change would still require a two-thirds majority in the upper house — which she does not currently control — and approval in a national referendum.
“It’s not a slam dunk,” Hornung said, “but probably the best chance for any prime minister.”
STANDING UP TO CHINA
“I expect to see Japan very forward-leaning on defense policy, such as her statements on a Taiwan contingency,” said Kevin Maher, a former US diplomat now with NMV Consulting in Washington. “One impact could be that President Xi Jinping comes to understand her strong stance,” he added.
China
responded furiously
to Takaichi’s Taiwan comment, promising to “resolutely prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism” if Tokyo continued on its “wrong path.” Beijing also imposed a series of economic countermeasures including a boycott on travel to Japan and export restrictions on items such as rare earths it says Tokyo could use in military equipment.
Shingo Yamagami, a senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and a former Japanese ambassador to Australia, said the “hidden agenda” of the Sunday election was China.
“In light of belligerent actions and waves of economic coercion, should Japan acquiesce or stand tall?” he wrote on X. “The Japanese people clearly chose the latter.”
Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to Japan, Lee Yi-yang, was among the first foreign dignitaries to congratulate Takaichi, writing on Facebook that her victory showed Japan was not intimidated by China’s “threats and pressure.”
China’s foreign ministry on Monday again
urged Takaichi
to withdraw her remarks on Taiwan and said its policy toward Japan would not be changed by one election.
“We urge Japan’s ruling authorities to take seriously, rather than ignore, the concerns of the international community, and to pursue the path of peaceful development instead of repeating the mistakes of militarism,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
SECURITY STRATEGY Takaichi, a fan of Britain’s former leader Margaret Thatcher, is already accelerating defense spending to bring it to a record 2 percent of gross domestic product by the end of March. She has also pledged to ease restrictions on arms exports and allow Japan to pursue joint defense equipment projects with other countries.
Her administration plans to formulate a new national security strategy, likely by year end, that would further accelerate military spending.
That could lift defense outlays to around 3 percent of GDP, an LDP lawmaker told Reuters ahead of Sunday’s election, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding such a move.
The potential increase would follow pressure from US President Donald Trump on Washington’s allies to raise defense spending.
Drawing lessons from nearly four years of war in Ukraine, Japan wants to build up munitions stockpiles and buy new equipment, including drones, to prepare for any prolonged conflict against a more powerful adversary, analysts say. The scale of Takaichi’s security ambitions could, however, be constrained by tax cuts and economic stimulus measures that would strain public finances, said Jeffrey Hornung, an expert on Japanese security policy at the RAND Corporation.
“Maybe you’ll see an effort to spend more, but because of her plans to spend on consumer measures, they may not choose to push much further,” he said.
The landslide victory could also bring a long-taboo security goal into view, one that would not burden public finances.
With more than a two-thirds majority in the lower house, she could table an amendment to Japan’s pacifist constitution to formally recognize the Self-Defense Forces as a military. Any such change would still require a two-thirds majority in the upper house — which she does not currently control — and approval in a national referendum.
“It’s not a slam dunk,” Hornung said, “but probably the best chance for any prime minister.”
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