France begins landmark trial against top Syrian officials over killing of father and son

NEWS WIRES

21 May 2024 at 1:49 am·1-min read

The first trial in France of officials of the Syrian regime of Bashar al-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 al-Assad's regime and armed opposition groups, including Islamic State, 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.

But in those cases, the people prosecuted held lower ranks and were present at the hearings.

Scheduled to last four days, the hearings will be filmed.

'Torture'

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France begins landmark trial against top Syrian officials over killing of father and son

'Torture'

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