ALBAWABA - Due to their involvement in crimes against humanity, three senior officials of the Syrian regime were sentenced to life in jail by a French court in absentia. The prosecution contended that the defendants and Bashar al-Assad are essential components of the regime's repressive apparatus and, as such, the harsh punishment was justified.
A French court sentenced three Syrian government leaders to life on Friday. At the absentee trial, the authorities were judged guilty of crimes against humanity. The prosecution said that these people's punishment was justifiable because they and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are crucial to the government.
The prosecution sought life sentences for Abdul Salam Mahmoud, Jamil Hassan, and Ali Mamlouk, former heads of the Investigative Branch, Air Force Intelligence, and the National Security Bureau. The court affirmed these officials' arrest warrants.
French-Syrians Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick were detained in Damascus in 2013 and disappeared and died. Their death at the Air Force Intelligence facility at Mezzeh Airport was verified in August 2018. The Paris Judicial Court's Crimes Against Humanity Unit found that the Dabbaghs were tortured and died.
The prosecution contended that the regime's repressive practices were carried out at the highest levels and applied to every province, proving a purposeful and extensive campaign of persecution. The court sought to recognize the wider effects of the regime's actions on Syrian citizens by finding these officials guilty.
