Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office brings charges against ex-Vice President of Syria
Published: Tuesday, Mar 12th 2024, 13:10
Updated At: Tuesday, Mar 12th 2024, 13:11
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The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has brought charges against the former Syrian Vice President and ex-officer Rifaat al-Assad. It accuses the man of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The charges relate to acts committed in 1982.
As commander of the so-called defense brigades, the accused is alleged to have ordered killings, torture, cruel treatment and unlawful imprisonment in attacks on the population in the city of Hama, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) announced on Tuesday.
The OAG opened criminal proceedings against Rifaat al-Assad in December 2013 following a complaint from the non-governmental organization Trial International. A police check revealed that al Assad was staying in a hotel in Geneva at the time.
International arrest warrant
He is currently outside Switzerland, as the OAG wrote at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. At the end of November 2021, Switzerland issued an international arrest warrant for the accused. According to the OAG, this is still in force. The Federal Office of Justice would submit an extradition request in the event of an arrest.
The OAG's procedure is based on the principle of universality and the non-prosecution of war crimes. According to this principle, the judiciary can prosecute war crimes regardless of where the crime was committed or the citizenship of the victims or perpetrators.
Under certain circumstances, criminal law allows charges to be brought if the accused is not in Switzerland. A trial in absentia is also possible. Several victims appear as plaintiffs in criminal proceedings.
Atrocities against the population
The attacks took place as part of an armed conflict between the Syrian armed forces and Islamist insurgents - in particular the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood - in Hama in February 1982. According to estimates, the conflict claimed between 3,000 and 60,000 lives, most of them civilians.
At the beginning of February 1982, Syrian security forces were sent to Hama to put down the uprising. The operation is said to have ended at the end of February. Under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, the defense brigades are said to have been mainly responsible for the suppression.
According to witnesses, several thousand civilians were victims of various abuses, ranging from immediate execution to torture and imprisonment in specially created centers.
Execution order issued
In the indictment, the OAG accuses Rifaat al-Assad, as the person responsible for the operation and commander of the defense brigades, of ordering several violations of the laws of war. In doing so, it relies on the Swiss Military Criminal Code and the Geneva Convention.
He is said to have ordered his troops to comb through the city and execute its inhabitants. The accused is alleged to have participated in killings, torture, cruel treatment and unlawful imprisonment. According to the OAG, the killings can be classified as crimes against humanity.
The OAG will submit its criminal applications at the main hearing before the Federal Criminal Court. A date was not known on Tuesday. The presumption of innocence applies to the accused until a final verdict is reached.
Rifaat al-Assad is 86 years old and an uncle of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. After a failed coup against his brother Hafiz al-Assad, he fled Syria in 1984. He had previously been his right-hand man and vice president. He then lived in Russia and Switzerland, among other places, before settling in France.
The French judiciary sentenced him to four years in prison for embezzlement and money laundering. He left the country in 2021 and returned to Syria.
©Keystone/SDA
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