A French Court Sentences Three Syrian Security Officials to Life Imprisonment

A court in France on Friday, June 4, convicted three senior Syrian security officials for their involvement in the torture and murder of a French-Syrian father and son, and for war crimes. The Paris criminal court sentenced all three in absentia to life imprisonment. Many attendees in the courtroom cheered upon hearing the judges' verdict. Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick were arrested in 2013 during a crackdown on protests in Damascus, Syria's capital. Investigations into their disappearance began two years later. Obeid Dabbagh, Mazen's brother and Patrick's uncle, expressed deep emotion after the court's ruling, stating, 'I was very, very emotional about this verdict. This was the ruling I was waiting for. This is a historic court and sets a legal precedent for future cases.' Ali Mamlouk, the former head of the National Security Organization and one of the convicted, continues to play a role in the Syrian government as an advisor to Bashar al-Assad. Jamil Hassan, the former head of the Air Force Intelligence, and Abdelsalam Mahmoud, the former head of Air Force Investigations, are the other two convicted officials. These three are the highest-ranking Syrian officials to be tried in a European court for their involvement in 'crimes' during the Syrian civil war. Peaceful protests in Syria began in 2011 but eventually led to a bloody civil war. The Assad regime, with the help of Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, managed to suppress its opponents. The Syrian civil war has left hundreds of thousands dead and displaced millions from their homes. A Syria observer based in the UK states, 'At least 100,000 people have died solely under torture by Assad's agents.'