France's Supreme Court has overturned an arrest warrant for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, issued before he was removed from power over deadly chemical attacks in 2013, AFP reported.
Magistrates say there are no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Court President Christophe Soulard noted that since Assad is no longer president, new arrest warrants can be issued against him.
French authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Assad in November 2023. for his alleged role in a sarin attack that killed more than 1,000 people in Adra and Douma in 2013. The former Syrian leader is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case, although Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed the rebels.
The French judiciary examined the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows a court to prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries. The investigation led to the issuance of arrest warrants for Assad, his brother Maher, who led an elite army unit, and two generals.
Prosecutors approved three of the warrants but appealed against the one for Assad, arguing that he should have immunity as a head of state. However, in June last year, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the decision and prosecutors appealed it again.
In January 2025 French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant for Assad on suspicion of complicity in war crimes for a 2017 bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa that killed a French-Syrian civilian.