It marked a turning point in the war in Syria. It has been ten years since the sarin gas chemical attack near Damascus that killed at least 1,400 people occurred. Ten years that this crime attributed to the regime of Bashar al-Assad remains unpunished. But several investigations are ongoing. The Syrian regime is the subject of legal action in Europe, particularly in Germany and France where a first trial is looming.
Indictments
Former Syrian soldier, Abdulhamid Chaban is indicted for complicity in crimes against humanity in 2019. And an indictment for torture and war crimes is confirmed on appeal in 2022 against Majdi Nema, former spokesperson of the rebel group Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), arrested in 2020 in Marseille in the south of France. Seized by these two Syrians, the Court of Cassation – the highest judicial body in the country – must render a decision on May 12, 2023 on the universal jurisdiction of French justice for crimes against humanity or war crimes. Problem: these crimes are not recognized in Syria.
Complaint and indictment in 2021
In 2021, three NGOs also obtained the opening of a judicial investigation into chemical attacks perpetrated in 2013 and attributed to the Assad regime. These NGOs had already taken legal action in Germany for the same facts, but also for a sarin gas attack in 2017. Also in 2021, a Franco-Syrian was charged and imprisoned, suspected of having supplied equipment to the Syrian army. , including components that can be used to manufacture chemical weapons.
A trial at the assizes
According to an indictment order signed at the end of March, of which AFP has knowledge, three senior officials of the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad will be tried in Paris, probably by default, for the deaths of two Franco-Syrians, Mazzen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, arrested in 2013. The referral to the assizes for complicity in crimes against humanity and war crimes of Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan and Abdel Salam Mahmoud paves the way for a first trial in France.