a Franco-Syrian, suspected of having supplied material to the Syrian state to manufacture chemical weapons, was arrested

A 59-year-old Franco-Syrian, suspected of having provided the Syrian state with material that could be used to make chemical weapons during the war in Syria, was remanded in custody on Sunday, December 26, according to information gathered by France Inter . He is indicted for “conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity,” complicity in crimes against humanity “,” complicity in war crimes “and” laundering of war crimes and war against humanity “.

This leader of an international company, residing abroad, was arrested on December 21, while he was in the south of France, according to a judicial source. He had been in the sights of investigators since the American treasury, in charge of financial sanctions, had blacklisted his company for its support of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, in 2016. He had been wanted in France since the opening of a preliminary investigation in 2017. This was entrusted in 2018 to investigating judges of the Paris judicial court.

This Franco-Syrian is the first person indicted in this case, specifies a legal source. Since the start of the war in Syria, ten years ago, the regime of Bashar al-Assad has been regularly accused of using chemical weapons against its population. These include attacks with chlorine and sarin gas, listed by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). In August 2013, an attack in Ghouta near Damascus left 1,200 people dead.