French court hands life sentences to 3 top Syrian officers for war crimes & crimes against humanity

In a landmark judgement on abuses during the Syrian Civil War, a French court on Friday handed life sentences to three top Syrian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The three officials are part of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad’s regime. They have been identified as Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud. They are linked to the deaths of two French-Syrian men who were arrested in Syrian capital Damascus in 2013 and were declared dead in 2018.

The trial was held in absence of the three officials. They are believed to be in Syria, according to AFP.

The trial was the first in France related to the abuses during the ongoing Syrian Civil War that began in 2011 with an uprising against Assad. With the Russian support, Assad responded brutally to the uprising and is accused of indiscriminate killings, ethno-sectarian massacres, and the usage of chemical weapons on those opposed to his dynastic rule.

Since 2011, more than 500,000 have been killed in the Syrian Civil War and over 7 million have been displaced. Entire cities have also been devasted in the war, which also coincided with the rise and fall of the Caliphate of the terrorist group ISIS in the region.

What’s the French case all about?

The case is related to the deaths of two French-Syrian men named Mazzen Dabbagh and his son Patrick. They were arrested in Syrian capital Damascus in 2013 during the Syrian Civil War. They were never seen again and were declared dead in 2018.

The three top Syrian officials found guilty in the case are Ali Mamlouk, former Head of the National Security Bureau; Jamil Hassan, former director of the air force’s intelligence service; and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, former head of investigations. The AFP reported that Mamlouk has become a top advisor to Assad.

At the time of arrest, Patrick was a 20-year-old students at the University of Damascus and his father Mazzen was a senior education adviser to a French school in Damascus, according to the agency.

Ahead of the trial, the judges said that it was “sufficiently established” that Patrick and Mazzen “like thousands of detainees of the Air Force intelligence suffered torture of such intensity that they died”.

Obeida Dabbagh, Mazzen’s brother, called the judgement an “important first step” towards justice.

“Impunity is something very difficult to live with. Justice has to be seen. This is a very important first step. It is historic,” said Obeida, as per the agency.

‘Verdict not just about 3 officials, it’s about entire Syrian regime’

Ninar Khalifa, a researcher at Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), said that the verdict was just about three officials, but it indicted the entire Syrian regime.

“The fact that the verdict included crimes against humanity shows that the entire Syrian regime has been involved in persecuting people in Syria. This is not only about three officials. It’s against the military hierarchy of the Syrian regime from top to bottom,” said Khalifa to VOA News.

Anwar al-Bunni, a human rights lawyer from Germany, said the verdict was historic and would prevent any future normalisation of ties with Assad’s regime.

“This ruling will prevent any future efforts to normalize with the Syrian regime, especially since one of the officials prosecuted is Ali Mamlouk, who currently serves as a presidential adviser,” said Bunni to VOA.