Syria Issues Arrest Warrant for Bashar al-Assad

Syria Issues Arrest Warrant for Bashar al-Assad

A Damascus court has issued an arrest warrant for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, accusing him of ordering the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in Daraa in 2011. He faces charges of murder, torture, and unlawful detention. The warrant could pave the way for Interpol to place Assad on an international wanted list. Assad fled to Russia after rebels seized power last December. The 2011 protests escalated into a devastating civil war, during which over 30,000 detainees died from torture or starvation in the notorious Sednaya prison. Earlier, France had annulled its own warrant against Assad, but in January 2025 it reissued an international arrest order on charges of crimes against humanity.