Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 The first ever trial here in France into the crimes of Bashar al-Assad's regime is opening here in Paris today.
00:07 Three high-ranking Syrian officials suspected of having played a role in the deaths of two French Syrians
00:13 are being tried in absentia for complicity in crimes against humanity.
00:18 All three are the targets of international death warrants.
00:21 Well, let's cross then straight to the court.
00:23 We're going to talk to our senior reporter James Andre, who joins us from there.
00:27 James, tell us first of all then who are these men and exactly what they're accused of, can you?
00:33 Yes, absolutely. These three men are high-ranking officials within the Syrian security apparatus under Bashar al-Assad.
00:44 The first one, his name is Ali Mamluk.
00:46 Now, he was the head of the National Security Bureau in charge of all intelligence services across the country.
00:54 The second is Jamil Hassan.
00:56 Now, he was the head of Air Force Intelligence.
00:58 And the third is Salam Mahmoud.
01:01 He is the head of the Investigations Bureau of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Service.
01:08 Now, these three men are being tried here in absentia for the arrest, subsequent torture and death of two men,
01:18 Mazen Sabag and Patrick Abdelkader Sabag, two Franco-Syrians who were arrested in November 2013
01:26 and taken to Medzir Airport, a place that became infamous for being a place of detention and torture of opponents to Bashar al-Assad's regime.
01:36 And there, well, they simply disappeared.
01:39 And, well, death certificates were given to their families in the years following.
01:44 Nobody ever had any more news about them.
01:46 But, indeed, there is documentation.
01:48 There are witnesses to what happened.
01:50 And this is what's going to be tried here.
01:52 Subsequently to their disparition, well, the regime or the officials in question confiscated the family's home,
01:59 kicking out Mazen's wife and his daughter, and, indeed, took the property.
02:05 So these are the reasons why these men are tried here.
02:07 And, as you said, yes, they are tried for complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes.
02:13 James, as we said, they're all being tried in absentia.
02:16 Do we know exactly where they are?
02:18 And, in theory, could they actually face some consequences because of this?
02:22 Now, no, we do not know where they are.
02:27 They're, indeed, tried in absentia.
02:29 But, yes, there will be consequences, simply because, first of all, well, if, indeed, they are condemned,
02:34 then there will be an international arrest warrant with Interpol.
02:37 So that means that will impair their capacity to travel in various countries across the world.
02:42 It means that they will be arrested if they set foot on the soil of very various countries.
02:46 Also, it is a strong signal when it comes to the political situation of Syria
02:53 at a time where many countries are normalizing with Bashar al-Assad's regime in the wake of what happened in the Syrian war.
02:59 Well, this goes to show that, indeed, those who committed crimes and atrocities
03:04 will still be prosecuted and, indeed, investigated.
03:07 So this is very much the signal that is being sent here.
03:10 So no impunity when it comes to crimes against humanity and crimes that took place during the Syrian war.
03:17 And, of course, if they were to be arrested, they would be arrested.
03:22 But, also, well, there would be a new trial that would define what actual present times or sentences could be handed down to them.
03:30 James, thanks so much. James Andretti.