A Paris court has issued an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He is suspected of complicity in war crimes related to a devastating chemical attack near Damascus in August 2013.
The chemical attack killed more than 1,400 people, many of them children.
The warrants also target Assad’s brother, Maher and two other high-ranking military generals.
President Wanted in France
The French court has issued the arrest warrant after ten years of brutal civil war that claimed more than half a million people.
The move comes after an extensive investigation by the Paris court’s unit into President Bashar’s criminal record.
The investigation was initiated in 2021 following a legal complaint by three Syria non-government organizations.
Can the President Be Arrested?
Arresting the sitting heads of state are rare because they generally enjoy immunity from prosecution.
The International Criminal Court currently has two arrest warrants against heads of state: one against sitting Russian President Vladimir Putin and another against former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
