A court in France has issued an international arrest warrant for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, France 24 reports.
The warrant relates to the investigation into the deaths of American journalist Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik, who were killed in February 2012 during heavy shelling of the city of Homs by Syrian government forces.
Along with Assad, arrest warrants were issued for six other former high-ranking officials in his administration. The investigation considers them responsible for the use of tactics aimed at suppressing the press and the civilian population during the civil war.
This is not the first time that the French judiciary has issued an arrest warrant for the former Syrian leader. In November 2023, Assad was charged with organising chemical attacks in 2013. However, in July 2025, France’s highest court of appeal overturned that warrant, citing presidential immunity at the time of the alleged crimes.
Bashar al-Assad had been in power for more than two decades. His regime was overthrown in December 2024 as a result of an escalating internal crisis. After that, the former Syrian leader fled to Russia. The Kremlin confirmed that it had granted him political asylum, stressing that this was done ‘for humanitarian reasons.’
