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From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 25, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Friday, July 25, 2025
France’s top court annuls arrest warrant against Syria’s Assad
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Syrian President Bashar Assad, during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 19, 2023. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
France’s highest court annuls a French arrest warrant against Syria’s ex-president Bashar al-Assad over deadly 2013 chemical attacks issued before his ouster.
The Court of Cassation rules there are no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, adds that, as Assad is now no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, “new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him” and as such the investigation into the case could continue.
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