Syria
Abdulhamid A. C.
Type of liability
Personne physique
Alleged perpetrator(s)
Abdulhamid A. C.
Nationality of alleged perpetrator(s)
Syrian
Legal classification of crime(s)
Torture and acts of barbarity
Crimes against humanity
Complicity in crimes against humanity
Source of the complaint
Article 40 CCP
Ongoing proceedings
oui
Regime
2 - 689-1 CPP
3 - 689-11 CPP
Summary of facts
Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the Syrian intelligence services have allegedly systematically arrested, tortured and killed opposition activists.
A joint investigation was launched in France and Germany into crimes against humanity and acts of torture allegedly committed by Syrian agents against the civilian population since 2011, including crimes committed by Abdulhamid A. C., who is suspected of having participated in them between 2011 and 2013.
Abdulhamid A. C. is a Syrian national and a former member of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), one of the country’s four intelligence agencies.
Amnesty International France recalls that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law.
Legal proceedings
February 12, 2019: the French authorities arrest Abdulhamid A. C., whose asylum application had been rejected, in the Paris region on suspicion of crimes against humanity.<br />
On the same day, as part of a joint investigation between Germany and France, the German authorities arrest two other former intelligence officers on their soil: Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib.<br />
February 15, 2019: a judicial investigation is opened: Abdulhamid A. C. is indicted for “complicity in crimes against humanity.” He is placed in pre-trial detention.<br />
February 22, 2019: FIDH and LDH join as civil parties.<br />
August 12, 2019: the defense of Abdulhamid A. C. files an application for annulment of the record of his arrest, of his police custody and of the subsequent acts, including his indictment, on the grounds that the French prosecuting and trial authorities lack jurisdiction and that there is no serious or corroborating evidence.<br />
In 2020: Abdulhamid A. C. is released in the course of the judicial investigation.<br />
February 18, 2021: the Investigating Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal dismisses the application for annulment. Abdulhamid A. C. challenges this decision before the Court of Cassation.<br />
November 24, 2021: the Court of Cassation quashes and annuls the judgment of the Investigating Chamber, on the grounds that, for a prosecution in France, French law requires that crimes against humanity also be punishable under Syrian law, which is not the case. The case is remanded to the Paris Court of Appeal, differently composed. A civil party files an opposition against this judgment.<br />
December 7, 2021: FIDH challenges the decision of the Court of Cassation, considering that it was not notified of the Court’s hearing and was therefore unable to take part in it.<br />
September 9, 2022: the First President of the Court of Cassation orders that the examination of the opposition be referred to the Plenary Assembly of the Court of Cassation.<br />
May 12, 2023: the Court of Cassation dismisses the appeal and recognizes the universal jurisdiction of the French courts in the Abdulhamid A. C. case. By this decision, the Court defines the notions of habitual residence and double criminality.<br />
August 5, 2025: a closing order is issued, concluding the judicial investigation.</p>
Legal issues
Complaint
Names of NGOs / Victim(s)
LDH
SCM
Legal basis for jurisdiction (article)
689-11 CCP
Sources
OCLCH, L’OCLCH interpelle un Syrien soupçonné de crimes contre l’humanité, 2019
Cour de cassation, arrêt du 12 mai 2023
Trial International, "Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review 2026"