Paris issues arrest warrants against Assad and Syrian officials for the assassination of journalists
French judiciary issued seven arrest warrants last month against several former Syrian officials, including former President Bashar Assad, in a case related to an explosion that targeted a media center in Homs in 2012, resulting in the deaths of journalists.
The issuance of the warrants, which affected senior former officials in the Syrian regime, was based on information from the civil parties' lawyer on Tuesday. The charges focus on the incident that occurred on February 22, 2012, when a building housing several journalists came under gunfire, prompting them to attempt to leave.
According to the "France Press" agency, the first two of them were killed by a mortar shell after crossing the door, namely American journalist Marie Colvin (56 years old) from the "Sunday Times," and independent French photographer Remi Ochlik (28 years old).
The attack also injured French reporter Edith Bouvier, British photographer Paul Conroy, and their Syrian translator Wael al-Ammar.
This judicial development comes after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 of last year (2024) during a surprise military operation, where the former president fled the country, and Russia, his former ally, granted him humanitarian asylum.
While Assad, who is accused by many Syrian opponents, as well as human rights organizations, of committing several crimes and violations against thousands of civilians, has not appeared in public since then.
