France Issues Arrest Warrants for Assad and Six Other Former Officials Over 2012 Killings of Journalists
French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and six other top former officials in connection with the 2012 killings of two journalists in Syria.
PARIS: French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad and six other top former officials over the bombardment of a rebel-held city in 2012 that killed two journalists, lawyers said on Tuesday.
Marie Colvin, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain, and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed on February 22, 2012 by an explosion in the eastern city of Homs, which is being investigated by the French judiciary as a potential crime against humanity and a war crime.
Other journalists, including British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar, were also wounded in the attack on the informal press center where they had been working.
Assad escaped to Russia with his family after being ousted at the end of 2024; his exact whereabouts remain unknown.
The warrants target several high-ranking officials from Assad's regime, including his brother Maher Assad and former intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk.
According to lawyers representing human rights organizations and families of the victims, these legal actions pave the way for potential trials in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The journalists were said to have entered the besieged city to document the crimes committed by Assad's regime when they were targeted in the bombing.
This attack was allegedly part of a broader effort by the Syrian government to limit media coverage of its actions and force foreign journalists to leave the country.
Marie Colvin, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain, and French photographer Remi Ochlik were killed on February 22, 2012 by an explosion in the eastern city of Homs, which is being investigated by the French judiciary as a potential crime against humanity and a war crime.
Other journalists, including British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar, were also wounded in the attack on the informal press center where they had been working.
Assad escaped to Russia with his family after being ousted at the end of 2024; his exact whereabouts remain unknown.
The warrants target several high-ranking officials from Assad's regime, including his brother Maher Assad and former intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk.
According to lawyers representing human rights organizations and families of the victims, these legal actions pave the way for potential trials in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The journalists were said to have entered the besieged city to document the crimes committed by Assad's regime when they were targeted in the bombing.
This attack was allegedly part of a broader effort by the Syrian government to limit media coverage of its actions and force foreign journalists to leave the country.
