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France’s highest court Friday annulled a French arrest warrant against Syria’s ex-president Bashar al-Assad — issued before his ouster — over 2013 deadly chemical attacks.The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, “new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him” and as such the investigation into the case could continue.Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law towards holding accused war criminals to account.They said that, in this regard, it was a missed opportunity.”This ruling represents a setback for the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law,” said Mazen Darwish, the head of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a civil party to the case.French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus.Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case. Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels.- Universal jurisdiction -The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries.An investigation — based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage — led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals.Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state.The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed.But in December, Assad’s circumstances changed.He and his family fled to Russia, according to Russian authorities, after Islamist-led fighters seized power from him.In January, French investigating magistrates issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian.- ‘Great victory’ -The Court of Cassation said Assad’s so called “personal immunity”, granted because of his office, meant he could not be targeted by arrest warrants until his ouster.But it ruled that “functional immunity”, which is granted to people who perform certain functions of state, could be lifted in the case of accusations of severe crimes.Thus it upheld the French judiciary’s indictment in another case against ex-governor of the Central Bank of Syria and former finance minister, Adib Mayaleh.He has been accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity over alleged funding of the Assad government during Syria’s civil war.Mayaleh obtained French nationality in 1993, and goes by the name Andre Mayard on his French passport.Darwish, the Syrian lawyer, said that part of the court’s ruling was however a “great victory”.”It establishes the principle that no agent of a foreign state, regardless of the position they hold, can invoke their immunity when international crimes are at stake,” he said.Syria’s war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions from their homes since its eruption in 2011 with the then-government’s brutal crackdown on anti-Assad protests.Assad’s fall on December 8, 2024 ended his family’s five-decade rule.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said Friday the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip “must end now”, as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory faces a deepening crisis. “We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation,” they said in a joint statement released by Berlin.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “the most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay”. “Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable,” they said.”Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law.”More than 100 aid and human rights groups warned this week that “mass starvation” was spreading in Gaza after more than 21 months of war. Israel has rejected accusations it is responsible for the deepening crisis in Gaza, which the World Health Organization has called “man-made”.Israel placed the Gaza Strip under an aid blockade in March, which it only partially eased two months later while sidelining the longstanding UN-led distribution system.The European leaders also stressed that “the time has come to end the war in Gaza. “We urge all parties to bring an end to the conflict by reaching an immediate ceasefire.””We stand ready to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political process that leads to lasting security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region,” they said.Starmer had earlier said he would hold an “emergency call” on Gaza Friday with Macron and Merz.Palestinian militant group Hamas triggered the conflict with its October 7, 2023 attack in Israel. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has so far killed 59,676 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.Of the 251 hostages taken during the attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

Iranian diplomats said they held “frank and detailed” nuclear talks on Friday with counterparts from Germany, Britain and France, who have threatened to trigger sanctions if Tehran fails to agree a deal on uranium enrichment and cooperation with UN inspectors.The meeting in Istanbul was the first since Israel launched an attack on Iran last month targeting key nuclear and military sites, sparking a 12-day war and leading Tehran to pull away from working with the UN watchdog.The European diplomats were seen leaving the Iranian consulate shortly before 1100 GMT after spending several hours inside.Israel’s offensive — which killed top commanders, nuclear scientists and hundreds of others and in which residential areas and military sites were struck — also derailed US-Iran nuclear talks that began in April.Since then, the European powers, known as the E3, have threatened to trigger a so-called “snapback mechanism” under a moribund 2015 nuclear deal that would reinstate UN sanctions on Iran by the end of August.The sanctions trigger expires in October, and Tehran has warned of consequences should the E3 opt to activate it.Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks alongside senior Iranian diplomat Majid Takht-Ravanchi, wrote on X that he had used the meeting to criticise the European stance on the 12-day conflict with Israel.He said the snapback mechanism had also been discussed, adding: “It was agreed that consultations on this matter will continue.”Takht-Ravanchi told state news agency IRNA the Iranian side had demanded “punitive sanctions” be lifted “as soon as possible”.Before the talks, a European source said the three countries were preparing to trigger the mechanism “in the absence of a negotiated solution”.The source urged Iran to make “clear gestures” on uranium enrichment and resuming cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.- ‘Common ground’ -Gharibabadi warned earlier in the week that triggering sanctions — which would deepen Iran’s international isolation and place further pressure on its already strained economy — would be “completely illegal”.He accused European powers of “halting their commitments” under the 2015 deal, which the United States unilaterally withdrew from in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.”We have warned them of the risks, but we are still seeking common ground to manage the situation,” said Gharibabadi.Iranian diplomats have previously warned that Tehran could withdraw from the global nuclear non-proliferation treaty if sanctions were reimposed.Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has urged European powers to trigger the mechanism.Israel’s June 13 attack on Iran came two days before Tehran and Washington were scheduled to meet for a sixth round of nuclear negotiations.On June 22, the US joined Israel’s offensive by striking Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.Before the war, the US and Iran were divided over uranium enrichment — with Tehran describing it as a “non-negotiable” right, while Washington called it a “red line”.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says Iran is enriching uranium to 60 percent purity — far above the 3.67 percent cap under the 2015 deal and close to weapons-grade levels.Tehran has said it is open to discussing the rate and level of enrichment, but not the right to enrich uranium.A year after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal, Iran began rolling back its commitments, which had placed restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.Israel and Western powers accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied.- ‘New form’ -Iran insists it will not abandon its nuclear programme, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi describing the position as “unshakable”.Though he claimed enrichment had come to a halt because of “serious and severe” damage to nuclear sites caused by US and Israeli strikes, the full extent of the damage sustained in the US bombing remains unclear. Trump claimed at the time the sites had been “completely destroyed”, but US media reports based on Pentagon assessments cast doubt on the scale of destruction.Since the 12-day war, Iran has suspended cooperation with the IAEA, accusing it of bias and failing to condemn the attacks.Inspectors have since left the country but a technical team is expected to return in the coming weeks after Iran said future cooperation would take a “new form”.Israel has warned it may resume strikes if Iran rebuilds facilities or moves toward weapons capability.Iran has pledged a “harsh response” to any future attacks.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron hopes that his country formally recognising a Palestinian state in September will encourage other countries to follow suit, according to analysts.International envoys are set to discuss a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict early next week in New York, before a further summit co-hosted by France ahead of the UN General Assembly in September.- Why now? -Macron’s announcement on Thursday came as international alarm grew about the plight of the more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s war against the Hamas militant group has triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of mass starvation.”The sense of urgency may have driven the president to move forward alone,” France’s former ambassador to Israel Gerard Araud told the France Inter broadcaster.Besides the humanitarian crisis and “the shocking declarations of certain Israeli ministers” on the fate they wish for all Gazans, Macron may also have been influenced by the political climate in France, said David Khalfa of the Jean Jaures Foundation.The war has triggered tensions in France, which is home to the largest Muslim community in the European Union, as well as the biggest Jewish population outside Israel and the United States.- What’s the plan? -France has long advocated for the so-called “two-state solution” for a Palestinian state to live in peace side-by-side with an Israeli one.Macron’s original idea was for France and other countries to recognise a Palestinian state at the same time as other nations — including Gulf heavyweight Saudi Arabia — normalised ties with Israel.As that proposal did not appear to gain traction, Macron made his announcement in the hope of spurring others to do likewise in the run-up to September’s UN General Assembly, said analyst Amelie Ferey.”The idea is to have a little over a month to potentially rally other countries to make a larger announcement in New York,” said Ferey, an analyst at the French Institute of International Relations.”The United Kingdom and Canada could perhaps follow suit,” she added.- Will it work? -Canada, France and Britain were among 25 countries on Monday to say the Gaza war “must end now”, arguing that the suffering of civilians had “reached new depths”.Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was under pressure from his Labour party to act.”He wants to move in concert with other countries and use recognition as a card in negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza,” he said.”But the timing is awkward” as US President Donald Trump arrives in Scotland on Friday evening, he added.”Starmer will be reluctant to upset him when there’s still things to be done on the UK-US trade deal.”- Why team up with Riyadh? -As France has no leverage to end the current Gaza war, “the idea in Paris is to let the United States impose a ceasefire, and for Paris to then be an important actor afterwards, along with the Saudis,” said Ferey.Camille Lons, an expert from the European Council on Foreign Relations, said France and Saudi Arabia were working on a post-ceasefire roadmap.This would include proposals for “the isolation and disarmament of Hamas, Palestinian elections in 2026, a new legal framework for political parties” and “the prospect of having a technocratic government”, she said.Other options on the table could include a UN peacekeeping mission, including personnel from neighbouring Egypt, she said. “The goal is to garner support from countries in the region for the sidelining of Hamas, including Qatar,” an ally of the Palestinian Islamist group, she added.- Is it realistic? -But “this is all quite detached from reality”, warned Lons.For Ferey, “the Israeli government’s goal is for there to be no Palestinian state.”After almost 22 months of war in Gaza, sparked by an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, the blockaded Palestinian territory has been largely ravaged by bombardment.And Israel’s far-right government is pushing for the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.Many Israelis now live in what would become a Palestinian state.Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and its 200,000 Jewish residents, the occupied West Bank is home to around 500,000 Israelis in settlements considered illegal under international law. Three million Palestinians also live in the West Bank.Khalfa added that Saudi Arabia had no intention to normalise its ties with Israel for as long as Prime Minister Netanyahu — who critics accuse of prolonging the Gaza war to stay in office — remains in power.

France’s highest court Friday annulled a French arrest warrant against Syria’s ex-president Bashar al-Assad — issued before his ouster — over 2013 deadly chemical attacks.The Court of Cassation ruled there were no exceptions to presidential immunity, even for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.But its presiding judge, Christophe Soulard, added that, as Assad was no longer president after an Islamist-led group toppled him in December, “new arrest warrants can have been, or can be, issued against him” and as such the investigation into the case could continue.Human rights advocates had hoped the court would rule that immunity did not apply because of the severity of the allegations, which would have set a major precedent in international law towards holding accused war criminals to account.French authorities issued the warrant against Assad in November 2023 over his alleged role in the chain of command for a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,000 people, according to US intelligence, on August 4 and 5, 2013 in Adra and Douma outside Damascus.Assad is accused of complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case, though Syrian authorities at the time denied involvement and blamed rebels.The French judiciary tackled the case under the principle of universal jurisdiction, whereby a court may prosecute individuals for serious crimes committed in other countries.An investigation — based on testimonies of survivors and military defectors, as well as photos and video footage — led to warrants for the arrest of Assad, his brother Maher who headed an elite army unit, and two generals.Public prosecutors approved three of the warrants, but issued an appeal against the one targeting Assad, arguing he should have immunity as a head of state.The Paris Court of Appeal in June last year however upheld it, and prosecutors again appealed.French investigating magistrates in January issued a second arrest warrant against Assad for suspected complicity in war crimes for a bombing in the Syrian city of Deraa in 2017 that killed a French-Syrian civilian.

The United Nations rights chief on Friday slammed Britain’s ban on activist group Palestine Action as a “disturbing” misuse of UK counter-terrorism legislation and urged the government to rescind its move.”The decision appears disproportionate and unnecessary,” Volker Turk said in a statement.The ban, introduced under Britain’s Terrorism Act 2000, took effect earlier this month after activists from the group broke into an air force base in southern England.Two aircraft were sprayed with red paint, causing an estimated £7.0 million ($9.55 million) in damage.Turk’s statement said the ban raised “serious concerns that counter-terrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature, and risks hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK”.He stressed: “According to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not.”But the ban among other things makes it a criminal offence to be a member of Palestine Action, to express support for the group or wear items of clothing that would arouse “reasonable suspicion” that the person is a member or supporter of the group, Turk pointed out. – Peaceful protest -UK police have arrested at least 200 people during protests, many of them peaceful, over the ban since it took effect, the UN rights office said.Palestine Action itself has condemned its outlawing — which makes it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison — as an attack on free speech.The UN high commissioner for human rights agreed.The ban, Turk said, “limits the rights of many people involved with and supportive of Palestine Action who have not themselves engaged in any underlying criminal activity but rather exercised their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association”.”As such, it appears to constitute an impermissible restriction on those rights that is at odds with the UK’s obligations under international human rights law.”The rights chief warned that the government’s decision “also conflates protected expression and other conduct with acts of terrorism and so could readily lead to further chilling effect on the lawful exercise of these rights by many people”.”I urge the UK government to rescind its decision to proscribe Palestine Action and to halt investigations and further proceedings against protesters who have been arrested on the basis of this proscription,” he said.”I also call on the UK government to review and revise its counter-terrorism legislation, including its definition of terrorist acts, to bring it fully in line with international human rights norms and standards.”

One of France’s longest-held inmates, the pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, arrived in Beirut on Friday, having been released from prison after more than 40 years behind bars for the killings of two diplomats.At around 3:40 am (0140 GMT), a convoy of six vehicles with flashing lights left the Lannemezan prison in southwest France, AFP journalists saw.Hours later, the 74-year-old was placed on a plane and deported back to Lebanon, to be welcomed by family members on his return to Beirut at the airport’s VIP lounge.Dozens of supporters, some waving Palestinian or Lebanese Communist Party flags, gathered near the arrivals hall to give him a hero’s reception, an AFP correspondent said.In his first public address after being released, Abdallah took aim at Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, where human rights organisations have warned of mass starvation.”The children of Palestine are dying of hunger while millions of Arabs watch,” he said.”Resistance must continue and intensify,” added the former schoolteacher.Abdallah’s family had said previously they would take him to their hometown of Kobayat, in northern Lebanon, where a reception is planned.Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris.- ‘Past symbol’ -The Paris Court of Appeal had ordered his release “effective July 25” on the condition that he leave French territory and never return.While he had been eligible for release since 1999, his previous requests were denied with the United States — a civil party to the case — consistently opposing him leaving prison.Inmates serving life sentences in France are typically freed after fewer than 30 years.Abdallah’s lawyer, Jean-Louis Chalanset, visited him for a final time on Thursday. “He seemed very happy about his upcoming release, even though he knows he is returning to the Middle East in an extremely tough context for Lebanese and Palestinian populations,” Chalanset told AFP.The charge d’affaires of the Lebanese Embassy in Paris, Ziad Taan, who saw Georges Abdallah before his departure, told AFP that he was “well, in good health, very happy to return to Lebanon to his family and to regain his freedom”.AFP visited Abdallah last week after the court’s release decision, accompanying a lawmaker to the detention centre.The founder of the Lebanese Revolutionary Armed Factions (FARL) — a long-disbanded Marxist anti-Israel group — said for more than four decades he had continued to be a “militant with a struggle”.After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments.The appeals court in February noted that the FARL “had not committed a violent action since 1984” and that Abdallah “today represented a past symbol of the Palestinian struggle”.The appeals judges also found the length of his detention “disproportionate” to his crimes, and pointed to his age.burs-jh/djt/sbk