Three High-ranking Syrian Officials Will Be Tried in Absence in Paris for Presumed War Crimes

A French Syrian father and son died, and three Syrian officials will go on trial in absentia in Paris.

On Tuesday, a Paris court will hold an absentee trial for three high-ranking Syrian officials who are suspected of being involved in the disappearance and eventual death of a French Syrian father and son. This is the first trial for alleged war crimes involving a current Syrian official.

Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, who were detained by Syrian Air Force Intelligence operatives in November 2013 and subsequently passed away while in their custody, are at the focus of the long-running case.

Ali Mamlouk, a security advisor to President Bashar al-Assad at the moment, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, a former high-ranking Air Force Intelligence unit officer, are the officials suspected of participating in their kidnapping and torture.

The accused will not be present for the four-day trial, which will take place in the Cour d’Assises.

Head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, Mazen Darwish, underlined the case’s importance for Syrians, describing the extrajudicial killings, torture, and “arbitrary detentions” as systematic aspects of the regime.

Syria is not a member of the International Criminal Court, one institution where there has been no accountability on a global scale. On the other hand, Syria is required by the International Court of Justice to stop torturing people.

The government of Syria, President Assad, and Russia, its allies, have refuted allegations of widespread executions and torture during the conflict, which the UN estimates has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Previous trials in Europe have targeted former officials, even though there have been no attempts to prosecute members of the Syrian government within Syria, where courts are perceived as protecting the president’s interests.