France's top court on Friday upheld some aspects of former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's personal immunity as head of state while allowing future arrest warrants for war criminals, drawing criticism from human rights groups and Syrian activists.
The Court of Cassation upheld Assad's immunity as head of state, but added that since he is no longer in power, “new arrest warrants could be issued for acts that could be considered war crimes or crimes against humanity.”
The decision came as a disappointment to activists who had hoped the immunity would be lifted, and it could have significant implications for other leaders accused of brutal crimes.
“This is a huge mistake on our part as victims. It will support another dictatorship that will continue to commit similar crimes, knowing that it will enjoy immunity,” said Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Media Center, which has been collecting evidence of war crimes.
“This is a sad day for us,” Mr Darwish added.
In a statement, Cassation Court President Christophe Soulard said 19 judges had refused to lift Assad's immunity, which could have paved the way for his trial in absentia in France for the 2013 Ghouta chemical weapons attack.
Human rights lawyers say it's time to ensure leaders involved in atrocities are prosecuted while they are in power, not just after they are removed.
However, international law prohibits this.
“Under current international law, crimes against humanity and war crimes are not exceptions to the principle of jurisdictional immunity for sitting foreign heads of state,” Mr Soulard said.
Assad, who is currently in exile in Russia, has not hired lawyers to defend himself against the charges and denies any involvement in the chemical attacks.
“The court's decision is a missed opportunity to bring justice,” said Mariana Peña, a lawyer with the Open Society Justice Initiative, which helped investigate the case.
However, she noted that the decision “leaves the door open for prosecution of Assad.”
The court also ruled in a case against Syria's former finance minister in Assad's government, allowing him to face criminal charges.
Adeeb Mayaleh's lawyers argue that he has immunity under international law.
For more than 50 years, Syria was ruled by Hafez al-Assad and then his son Bashar.
During the Arab Spring in 2011, the country of 23 million people erupted in revolt against a tyrannical regime, leading to a brutal 13-year civil war that left more than 500,000 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Millions more fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Europe.
The Assad dynasty has manipulated sectarian tensions to stay in power, leading to renewed violence in Syria against minorities despite promises that the country's new leaders would create a political future that would include and represent all of its communities.
The International Criminal Court is not bound by the principle of head-of-state immunity and has issued arrest warrants for leaders accused of atrocities, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza and Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines.
In 2013, the Syrian government denied involvement in the Ghouta attack, but the opposition rejected the charge because Assad's forces were the only side in the brutal civil war with sarin.
The United States subsequently threatened military retaliation, but Washington agreed to a deal with Moscow under which Assad gave up his stockpile of chemical weapons.
Assad held power for more than a decade with military support from Russia and Iranian-backed proxies.
Activists and human rights groups accuse him of using barrel bombs
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
