French court sentences 3 Syrian officials to life in prison in absentia for war crimes

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court has sentenced three high-ranking Syrian officials in absentia to life in prison for complicity in war crimes in a landmark case against the regime of Syria’s President Bashar Assad and the first such case on European soil. The trial focused on the officials’ role in the alleged 2013 arrest in Damascus of Mazen Dabbagh, a Franco-Syrian father, and his son Patrick—and their subsequent torture and killing. The four-day trial featured harrowing testimonies from survivors and searing accounts from Mazen’s brother.  Though cathartic for many, observers in France say the verdict is essentially toothless. Since 2018, international arrest warrants have been issued for the three sentenced officials: Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud.