French court issues new arrest warrant for Bashar Al-Assad

Shafaq News/ French authorities have issued a new arrest warrant for former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on charges related to war crimes committed in 2017, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The warrant, issued by two French investigative judges, accuses Al-Assad of complicity in war crimes, specifically for his alleged involvement in the bombing of Daraa in 2017. The attack reportedly resulted in the death of a French-Syrian citizen, Salah Abu Nabut, who was a 59-year-old former French language teacher.

This is the second arrest warrant targeting Assad issued by judges in the Crimes Against Humanity Unit at the Paris Criminal Court following the fall of his regime.

The new warrant comes at the request of France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office after investigations concluded that Assad now lacks the immunity from prosecution in foreign courts under international legal norms respecting reciprocal sovereignty.

The investigation determined that Salah Abu Nabut was killed on June 7, 2017, when his home in Daraa was struck by Syrian military helicopters during a period of intense conflict in the region.