France moves forward in the prosecution of international crimes committed in Syria: historic conviction and new trial underway
In May 2024, the French justice system marked a milestone in the fight against international impunity by sentencing three senior Syrian regime officials to life imprisonment in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case, centred on the disappearance and murder of French-Syrian citizens Patrick and Mazen Dabbagh, represents one of the most significant legal proceedings outside Syria for atrocities committed under the government of Bashar al-Assad.
The convicted men, Ali Mamlouk, former director of the National Security Bureau; Jamil Hassan, former head of air intelligence; and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, then director of the Mezzeh detention centre, were identified as directly responsible for the chain of command that allowed, and even promoted, the systematic practice of arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance of thousands of people. The investigation began in 2016 following complaints from relatives and organisations such as FIDH, LDH and the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, and culminated eight years later with a ruling that exposes the repressive machinery of the Syrian state.
The Paris Criminal Court heard chilling testimony during the May 2024 hearings. The systematic use of torture, including against minors, and the inhumane conditions in detention centres, such as Mezzeh, known for its abuses, were documented. One of the witnesses recounted how detainees were hung from the ceiling for hours, beaten with electric cables and kept in cells infested with rats.
In addition to the ruling against these three officials, the French courts have opened another legal front: the case against Adib Mayaleh, former governor of the Syrian Central Bank and former Minister of Economy. Arrested in Paris in December 2022, Mayaleh faces charges for his alleged complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity, having facilitated the financing of Syrian regime operations by circumventing international sanctions.
Mayaleh attempted to invoke functional immunity as a former senior Syrian government official. However, in a decision handed down on 25 July 2025, the French Court of Cassation rejected this argument and ruled that immunity cannot be applied in cases involving serious violations of international humanitarian law. The court reaffirmed that crimes such as torture and enforced disappearance cannot go unpunished, regardless of the rank or official function of the accused.
However, this same decision overturned the arrest warrant issued against Bashar al-Assad himself, recognising the personal immunity that protects sitting heads of state. Nevertheless, the continuation of the case against Mayaleh keeps alive the possibility of holding other members of the Syrian power circle criminally responsible.
In a global context where national justice mechanisms often fail in the face of state crimes, the advancement of universal jurisdiction in France represents a fundamental tool for victims and their families. Such proceedings, although complex and lengthy, demonstrate that justice can be achieved even outside the territory where the events took place, when there are courts willing to act.
David Cañón Galán, FIBGAR contributor
