The Syrian Ministry of Justice has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for the country's former president, Bashar Hafez Assad, who is a close ally of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Points of attention
- The warrant was issued 9 months after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, following the revolutionaries taking control of the country.
- The involvement of armed forces is possible in arresting Assad, who fled to Russia after the fall of his regime.
Syria issues arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad
According to Sham News Network , the absentia arrest warrant for the war criminal was signed by an investigating judge in Damascus.
The document states that 60-year-old Assad is being prosecuted for the following crimes:
intentional murder of two or more persons,
an attack with the aim of provoking civil war,
torture that led to death.
It is worth noting that the basis was Articles 535, 533, 534, and 298 of the General Criminal Code of Syria, as well as Law No. 16 of 2022 on the Prohibition of Torture.
Moreover, the document contains a description of the wanted war criminal: height about 189 cm, blue eyes, brown hair.
Law enforcement agencies are required to arrest Assad, wherever he is, and transfer him to an appropriate place of detention. Units of the Armed Forces may be involved in the implementation of the warrant.
Journalists point out that the warrant was issued 9 months after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
It was then that the revolutionaries took control of the entire country, amid the fall of the Baathist regime, which had lasted for 61 years.
What is important to understand is that Bashar Assad himself fled to Russia, where he received “humanitarian asylum.”
