The Trial of Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan, and Abdel Salam Mahmoud

In May 2024, the Assize Court in Paris tried three Syrian senior officials from the Intelligence service, Ali Mamlouk, Jamil Hassan and Abdel Salam Mahmoud, for complicity of crimes against humanity and complicity in extortion and concealment of extortion constitutive of war crimes. The victims were a father and his son carrying both Syrian and the French nationalities. Although the court summoned the defendants to appear, they failed to do so and would therefore be tried in abstentia. This is the first criminal trial against affiliates from the Syrian government in France.  

Notably, this trial was not based on principles of universal jurisdiction which enables national courts to prosecute foreigners for international crimes they committed in foreign territories. In this trial, the French nationality of the victims gave the court jurisdiction to try accused of Syrian nationality who committed crimes on Syrian territory.  

The trial lasted four days and was monitored by a consultant from SJAC who is experienced in the French judicial system and the Syrian conflict.