Three senior Syrian officials face trial in absentia in Paris today, Tuesday, on charges of involvement in the disappearance of a French-Syrian man and his later death.
This is the first time that Syrian officials still in their positions are being tried for alleged war crimes.
The case, which has been ongoing, revolves around the disappearance and death of Mazen Al-Dibagh and his son Patrick, who were detained by Syrian Air Force Intelligence agents in November 2013 and later died in prison.
The Syrian Ministry of Information has not yet responded to a request for comment on the case.
The Syrian government and its ally Russia have denied allegations of committing mass killings and torture in the war that the United Nations says has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands.
Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, which supports the case, said, “This is the first time a trial has been held for a Syrian official who is still part of the regime.”
In April, Mohammed Hammo, a former Syrian officer, was prosecuted in Sweden for his involvement in war crimes committed in 2012, marking the highest-ranking Syrian military officer to face trial in Europe concerning the conflict in Syria.
The conflict in Syria erupted following popular protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in March 2011, which were violently suppressed by the authorities. The ongoing conflict has resulted in over half a million deaths, extensive damage to infrastructure and productive sectors, and has displaced millions of people both within and outside the country.
In March, the Swiss public prosecutor decided to prosecute Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of President Bashar al-Assad, for war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to events from the 1980s.
Although a trial date has not yet been set, it is unlikely that Rifaat al-Assad will appear before the Swiss judiciary. He returned to his home country in 2021 after 37 years in exile and has not been seen in public since then, except in photos with family members, including the current president, in April 2023.
In November, French authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad on charges of complicity in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity related to chemical attacks in 2023.
International arrest warrants have also been issued for his brother Maher al-Assad and two other senior officers.
In January 2022, former intelligence colonel Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life imprisonment in Koblenz, Germany, for crimes against humanity, in the world’s first trial of violations committed by officials in the Syrian regime during the conflict.
