Syrian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for former President Bashar al-Assad, more than nine months after he was ousted from power, a judge said on September 27. Assad, who ruled Syria for more than two decades, fled to Russia in December last year after Islamist-led rebels advanced on the Syrian capital, Damascus, and then seized power.
The arrest warrant in absentia was issued against Assad on charges of premeditated murder and torture leading to death, the Syrian state news agency, SANA, reported, citing the investigating judge in Damascus, Tawfiq al-Ali.
The charges relate to a 2011 crackdown by Assad forces in the southern city of Daraa. In 2011, peaceful pro-democracy protests erupted against Assad's rule, demanding political change. However, his government responded with a brutal crackdown. The situation escalated into conflict that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and massive destruction.
Hundreds of thousands of people were imprisoned and subjected to torture or even disappeared, according to human rights advocates.
"The judicial decision opens the door to distributing the notice through Interpol and pursuing the case at the international level," said Judge al-Ali.
He added that the move comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the victims' families. Daraa is considered a hotbed of the uprising against Assad. Syrian media reported that the Justice Ministry issued the arrest warrant on Thursday on charges that also include attack with the intent to incite civil war.
Since Assad's ouster, Syria's new leadership has sought to portray itself as a moderate and human rights-respecting executive. The new leadership is seeking international economic support to rebuild the war-torn country./REL
