France’s highest court on Friday ruled that Syria’s ousted leader Bashar Assad had head of state immunity while he was in office and couldn’t be prosecuted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Cour de Cassation upheld Assad's head-of-state immunity, but added that since he is no longer in office, "new arrest warrants may have been or may be issued against him for acts that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity."
The decision is a blow to activists who had hoped the court would set aside the immunity, a decision that could have had far-reaching consequences for other leaders accused of atrocities.
"From our side as a victim, this is a huge mistake. This will support another dictatorship to keep doing this kind of crime - they know they will enjoy immunity," said Mazen Darwish, president of the Syrian Center for Media, which collected evidence of war crimes.
"It is a sad day for us," Darwish said.
