France Could Strip Bashar al-Assad of State Immunity in Landmark Case Over Chemical Attacks

France’s top court is about to make a decision that could shake international law — and potentially open the door to the trial of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s long-exiled strongman now living under Russian protection.

On Friday, judges at the Cour de Cassation will rule on whether al-Assad can be stripped of state immunity in light of the brutal evidence gathered against him by Syrian activists and European prosecutors. If they say yes, it would mark the first time a sitting head of state could face trial in France for crimes committed while still in power.

The case centers on Syria’s devastating chemical attacks — most notably, the 2013 strike in Ghouta and another in Douma in 2018. Assad has long denied involvement, but opposition figures and rights groups argue his regime was the only one in the war with access to sarin gas.

If the court rules against him, al-Assad could be tried in absentia, with his exile in Russia unlikely to shield him from international outrage — or future legal steps in Europe.

“A ruling against al-Assad would be a huge victory for the victims,” said Mazen Darwish, head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, the group that gathered war crimes evidence for the case. “It is not only about Syrians; this will open the door for the victims from any country and this will be the first time that a domestic investigative judge has the right to issue an arrest warrant for a president during his rule.”

That precedent, if set, could send shockwaves far beyond Syria. Human rights lawyers say it would open legal pathways to hold other leaders accountable for atrocities, even if they’re in office or in exile.

Darwish’s group is already looking at other possible cases — including a money laundering investigation into Adib Mayaleh, Syria’s former central bank governor and economy minister. Mayaleh’s defense hinges on immunity protections under international law, but if France tosses that rule for al-Assad, his case could be next.

While al-Assad hasn’t hired lawyers for this case, he continues to deny responsibility for any of the chemical attacks.

With input from Al Jazeera