Three Senior Officials of Bashar al-Assad's Government Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Committing 'War Crimes' in a Court in France

Three senior Syrian officials were found guilty in a court in France for their involvement in the disappearance and subsequent murder of a French-Syrian father and son, and for committing 'war crimes,' receiving life sentences. The trial was conducted in absentia. The audience in the courtroom cheered upon hearing the verdict. One of the three senior officials, Ali Mamlouk, the former head of the National Security Organization, still serves in the Syrian security apparatus as an advisor to Bashar al-Assad. Jamil Hassan, the former head of the Air Force Intelligence, and Abdulsalam Mahmoud, the former head of the service's investigations, are the other two officials. Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick were arrested by government agents in Damascus in 2012 following the crackdown on protests that later led to the ongoing civil war. Investigations into their disappearance began two years later when Obaida Dabbagh, Mazen's brother, testified before inspectors investigating war crimes in Syria. After the French court's ruling, Obaida Dabbagh said, 'I am deeply emotional. This was the verdict I was waiting for. This is a historic court and it creates a legal precedent for future cases.' None of the three defendants were present at the four-day trial. The Syrian government and Bashar al-Assad have denied allegations of massacres and torture in a war that, according to the United Nations, has left hundreds of thousands dead. France initiated the trial of the three senior officials of Bashar al-Assad's government on charges of torture and murder of a father and son. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has called for addressing the crimes of the Syrian government. France issued an arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad on charges of 'crimes against humanity' and 'war crimes.' The Swedish Supreme Court reaffirmed the life sentence of Hamid Noury; Iraj Masdagh: A victory for the plaintiffs.