A Syrian national flag and a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad torn apart by anti-government fighters in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Nov. 30, 2024 . (Credit: Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
On Monday, the Lebanese judiciary received a legal request from France seeking help in locating and arresting officials from the former Syrian regime if they are present in Lebanon, Asharq al-Awsat reported Tuesday.
A senior Lebanese judicial source told Asharq al-Awsat that the request was directed to Chief Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Hajjar. It specifically requested help in tracking Syria’s former Director of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate, Jamil al-Hassan; former Director of National Security, Ali Mamlouk; and former head of the investigation branch in Air Intelligence, Abdelsalam Mahmoud.
Involvement in 'incidents that led to the deaths of French citizens'
The French filing called on Lebanese authorities to verify whether these individuals are currently in the country and, if so, to arrest them to facilitate their transfer to France. The request forms part of an ongoing case against ousted President Bashar al-Assad and members of his regime, who are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including incidents that led to the deaths of French citizens. According to the filing, three French citizens of Syrian descent died under torture while held by Air Intelligence and interrogated by Mahmoud.
The source added that Judge Hajjar has assigned the information branch of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces to carry out the necessary investigations to determine whether the wanted officials are present in the country. The French request also included Lebanese telephone numbers reportedly in regular contact with the suspects.
In July, a French appeal court upheld an arrest warrant issued for Syrian al-Assad over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians. The warrant approved by French judges in November 2023 refers to charges of complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes. It followed a French investigation into chemical attacks in Douma and Eastern Ghouta in August 2013 that killed more than 1,000 people. France has issued arrest warrants for Assad three times since 2023, the latest being issued on Oct. 23, 2025.
Arrest warrants for sitting heads of state are rare because they generally have immunity from prosecution. However, international law has exceptions to that immunity when a head of state is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity or genocide. France is among the countries that allow the filing of crimes-against-humanity cases in its courts.
Lebanon had previously received an Interpol notice requesting it to implement a U.S. arrest warrant targeting al-Hassan and Mamlouk.
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