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Syrian court issues arrest warrant for Bashar Assad in absentia — news agency

The former Syrian president faces "charges of intentional murder, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty"

Bashar Assad Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

Bashar Assad

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

TUNIS, September 27. /TASS/. A court in Syria has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for former President Bashar Assad, SANA reported, citing the chief justice.

"An arrest warrant was issued in absentia <...> for Assad on charges related to the events in Deraa in 2011," the judge told the news agency. According to him, this decision "paves the way for international prosecution."

The former Syrian president faces "charges of intentional murder, torture leading to death, and deprivation of liberty." The warrant was issued based on a lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the 2011 events in Daraa.

Anti-government protests began in the Daraa governorate in 2011. Dozens of people were killed during operations to suppress the uprisings. The protests gradually turned into an armed conflict, during which the country became vulnerable to terrorist groups. For a long time, the provincial capital and neighboring settlements were under the control of the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia).

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