Khaberni - The French judiciary in Paris directed on Friday to a 34-year-old Syrian the charge of complicity in committing crimes against humanity in Syria, based on accusations related to acts suspected of being committed within the ranks of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad, who is wanted under three international arrest warrants.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office stated that the accused, who has been residing in France for several years and currently detained on remand, faces charges including deliberate assault on life, arrest or any form of severe deprivation of liberty, acts of torture, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts, committed in Syria between March 2011 and December 2015.
The prosecution clarified that it cooperated in the investigation with European judicial authorities, United Nations investigation mechanisms, and Syrian and international non-governmental organizations.
Accusations and Investigation
In December of last year, the French judiciary charged another individual suspected of belonging to a Syrian intelligence agency, believed to have managed a detention center where torture was practiced.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office had opened a preliminary investigation into crimes against humanity in Syria between 2010 and 2013, a period during which peaceful protests erupted and were violently suppressed in 2011, during the regime of the deposed President Bashar al-Assad.
The French judiciary has previously issued three arrest warrants against Assad himself on charges of complicity in committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, based on the bombing of civilian areas in Daraa in 2017, a media center in Homs in 2012, and chemical attacks in Daraa, Douma, and Eastern Ghouta in 2013.
In a related context, the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced on Friday the arrest of the primary suspect in committing the Damascus Tadamun massacre in 2013, Amjad Youssef.
The ministry stated through its channel on Telegram that the monitoring and tracking operations continued for several days before being executed in Sahl al-Ghab, emphasizing the continuation of pursuing other perpetrators of the massacre, to arrest them and bring them to justice.
Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khatib stated in a post on his account on the platform "X": "The criminal Amjad Youssef, the primary suspect in committing the Tadamun massacre, is now in our custody after a meticulous security operation."
Bashar al-Assad, along with his family, fled to Russia after his regime was overthrown by Islamic opposition factions at the end of 2024.
