The ruling might set a precedent to allow prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities.
France’s highest court is set to rule on whether it can strip the state immunity of Bashar al-Assad, the toppled Syrian leader in exile in Russia, because of the sheer brutal scale of evidence in accusations documented against him by Syrian activists and European prosecutors.
If the judges at the Cour de Cassation lift al-Assad’s immunity on Friday, it could pave the way for his trial in absentia over the use of chemical weapons in Ghouta in 2013 and Douma in 2018.
It could also set a precedent to allow the prosecution of other government leaders linked to atrocities, human rights activists and lawyers say.
Al-Assad has retained no lawyers for these charges and has denied he was behind the chemical attacks.
