The case against Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of ousted President Bashar al-Assad who is due to be tried by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, could be dropped, according to media reports.
The former Syrian vice-president and former Syrian army officer is being prosecuted in Switzerland for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has accused him of having “in his capacity as commander of the Defence Brigades (“Saraya al Difaa”, in Arabic) and commander of operations in Hama, ordered murders, acts of torture, cruel treatment and illegal detentions” in the context of the armed conflict and the widespread attack launched in February 1982 against the population of this Syrian city.
The massacre, which left between 10,000 and 40,000 dead, earned him the nickname “the Butcher of Hama”.
Under the former Military Penal Code (MPC), war crimes have been punishable in Switzerland since 1968, regardless of the location or citizenship of the perpetrator or victim. Swiss prosecutors first opened criminal proceedings for war crimes involving al-Assad in December 2013, following a report by the Swiss NGO TRIAL International. Alerted by Syrians living in Geneva, the NGO had found him staying in a Geneva hotel.
But on November 29, a few days before the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, recently driven from power by a coalition of rebel factions, the Federal Criminal Court informed the civil parties, the victims, “that it wishes to close the procedure”, the Le Matin Dimanche and the SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday.
According to the newspapers, the court informed the parties that the defendant suffers from illnesses that prevent him from travelling and participating in his trial.
The Federal Criminal Court had opened the proceedings on the basis of universal jurisdiction and the non-applicability of statutes of limitations for war crimes.
Presenting himself as an opponent of Bashar al-Assad, Rifaat al-Assad returned to Syria in 2021 after 37 years of exile in France, to escape a four-year prison sentence imposed on him in France for money laundering in an organised gang and embezzlement of Syrian public funds.
He left his country in 1984 after a failed coup attempt against his brother Hafez.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
More
Registration opens for Eurovision Song Contest 2025 tickets
This content was published on
Registration for tickets to watch the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, which will be held in the Swiss city of Basel in May 12-17, opened on Monday.
Swiss Federal Railways’ new timetable passes ‘commuter test’
This content was published on
The changeover to a new Federal Railways timetable went smoothly for Swiss commuters on Monday morning. Trains were punctual and no overcrowding was observed, say officials.
Nestlé Waters faces Perrier production stoppage, French media report
This content was published on
Nestlé Waters faces a possible halt to its production of Perrier mineral water in the south of France due to health risks, according to French news reports.
Number of Swiss residents claiming benefits drops again
This content was published on
A total of 249,700 people claimed some form of welfare in Switzerland in 2023, representing a social assistance rate of 2.8% – a level not seen since 2005.
Wood is hardly ever recycled in Switzerland. A study by the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) shows the recycling rate for wood is just under 8%.
Swiss union criticizes ‘insufficient’ wage increases
This content was published on
The Swiss union organisation Travail.Suisse has given a mixed view on 2025 wage negotiations. It says wage increases in some sectors are insufficient to offset the decline in purchasing power.
Survey: 82% of Swiss want to ban mobile phones in schools
This content was published on
The vast majority of Swiss residents (82%) want to ban mobile phones in schools, according to a survey published on Sunday. Even young people support the measure.
Swiss Re boss warns of ‘trust deficit’ after killing of UnitedHealth CEO
This content was published on
The murder of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson in the US and sympathy for the crime are worrying signs for insurers, according to Swiss Re CEO Andreas Berger.
Geneva celebrated “Escalade” this weekend, the battle that saw the Protestant city repel an invasion from the Catholic Duke of Savoy on the night of December 11-12, 1602.
