US EditionFrench court to decide if Assad can be stripped of immunity and tried for Syrian chemical attacks
FRANCE, JUL 25 – France's top court upheld immunity for Assad but allowed possible future war crime warrants amid evidence linking him to chemical attacks killing over 1,000 people, legal experts say.
- On July 25, 2025, France’s Court of Cassation annulled a warrant against Bashar al-Assad, citing immunity while allowing future warrants for war crimes.
- In November 2023, two investigative judges in Paris issued a warrant, targeting al-Assad’s alleged role in sarin attacks in Adra and Douma, Syria, US intelligence reported.
- France applied universal jurisdiction by examining evidence collected after the Douma chlorine attack, and the Cour de Cassation upheld Assad's immunity, citing international law.
- The decision upheld Assad's immunity, which activists criticized as a blow to justice, while allowing future warrants.
- New warrants may pave the way for Assad’s trial in absentia, and this could strengthen the legal framework for prosecuting current and former leaders, and future cases.
134 Articles
134 Articles
France's highest court upholds some of Bashar Assad's legal protections, but permits future warrants
The decision is a blow to activists who had hoped the court would set aside the immunity, a decision that could have had far-reaching consequences for other leaders accused of atrocities
French judges had issued a warrant for compliance in crimes against humanity and war crimes against Bashar al-Assad, by chemical attacks attributed to their regime in 2013.
By deciding that the personal immunity enjoyed by any head of state applied to the fallen Syrian president, the highest French court missed on Friday an opportunity to advance the fight against impunity for war criminals. Without closing the door to further prosecution.
Arab News
The Frontier PostFrance’s top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria’s Assad
PARIS: France’s highest court Friday annulled a French arrest warrant against Syria’s ex-president Bashar Assad — issued before his ouster — over 2013 deadly chemical attacks. The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad
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