Deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a televised interview with Sky News Arabia, broadcast on Aug. 9, 2023. (Credit: Sky News screenshot)
In August, French judicial authorities issued seven arrest warrants targeting former senior Syrian regime officials, including ex-president Bashar al-Assad, over the 2012 bombardment of a press center in Homs that killed two journalists, lawyers for the civil parties said Tuesday.
On Feb. 22, 2012, after initial shelling, journalists inside the building decided to leave. American journalist Marie Colvin (56) and French photographer Rémi Ochlik (28) were killed by a mortar shell outside, while others inside were injured by the blast.
The warrants, signed on Aug. 19, accuse the officials of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Besides Assad — who was deposed on Dec. 8, 2024, and has since taken refuge in Russia — the warrants target Maher al-Assad (head of Syria’s 4th Armored Division at the time), Ali Mamlouk (then head of general intelligence), Ali Ayoub (army chief of staff), and Rafik Shahada (military and security chief in Homs.)
Lawyers called the issuance of these warrants a decisive step toward a trial in France, marking progress in a case that has taken over 13 years to develop.
Since Assad’s ouster, Ahmad al-Sharaa has assumed power as interim president of Syria.
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