The Absentee Trial of Three Syrian Security Officials Begins in France

The first session of the trial of three Syrian intelligence officials began on Tuesday, May 22, in a court in Paris, accused of torture and murder of a father and son of French-Syrian descent during protests over 10 years ago. Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick were arrested in 2013 during the suppression of a demonstration in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Investigations into their disappearance began two years later. This court session will last four days, and human rights groups hope that this trial will once again draw public attention to the 'crimes' of the Syrian government over the past decade. About 50 people gathered near the Paris criminal court, chanting slogans in support of the missing and the dead in Syria. Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Organization, Jamil Hassan, former head of the Air Force Intelligence, and Abdulsalam Mahmoud, former head of Air Force Investigations, are the three officials of Bashar al-Assad's government being tried in absentia. If convicted in the Paris criminal court, these former Syrian officials could face life imprisonment. They 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 ultimately led to a bloody civil war. The Bashar al-Assad government, with the help of Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, was able 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 that 'at least 100,000 people have died solely under torture by Bashar al-Assad's agents.'