France issues arrest warrant for Syrian President Assad due to 'chemical attack'
French judges issued an arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad, his brother Maher Assad and two other senior officials over the use of banned chemical weapons against civilians. France has issued an international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is said to have "participated in crimes against humanity".
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A similar decision was made against Assad's brother Maher, the de facto commander of an elite Syrian military unit, and two armed forces generals. A judicial source told AFP that Assad was charged with attacks in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus in August 2013 that killed more than 1,400 people. The investigation was launched following a legal complaint filed by the non-governmental organization Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), the lawyers' association Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and the Syrian Archive, which documents human rights violations in Syria.
Darwish said, "An independent judiciary accepts that the chemical attack could not have happened without the knowledge of the Syrian President, that Assad is responsible and should be held accountable." Videos posted on social media in 2013 showed unconscious children, people foaming at the mouth, and doctors giving them oxygen to help them breathe.
source: aa