French prosecutors request new arrest warrant for Syria’s former president

French prosecutors have requested a new international arrest warrant for Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad over his alleged role in a deadly 2013 chemical weapons attack, reigniting judicial efforts after a previous warrant was annulled due to presidential immunity.

On July 25, France’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court, overturned a 2023 arrest warrant, ruling that Assad was shielded by presidential immunity at the time it was issued. However, the court clarified that no immunity applies to allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity once a head of state leaves office, thereby reopening the door for further legal action, Caliber.Az reports, citing French media.

Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 when Islamist-led forces captured Damascus, is believed to have fled to Russia with his family, according to Russian authorities.

The National Anti-Terror Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) confirmed that it had filed a request for “the issuing and international dissemination of an arrest warrant against Bashar al-Assad for alleged complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes” related to the 2013 chemical attack.

French investigators, active since 2021, are examining the suspected use of sarin gas in the suburbs of Adra and Douma near Damascus on August 4-5, 2013. The attack reportedly killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence.

An earlier French warrant, issued in January 2025, also accuses Assad of complicity in war crimes tied to a 2017 bombing in Deraa that killed a French-Syrian civilian.

The decision to issue the new warrant now rests with the investigating magistrates.

By Vafa Guliyeva