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QAMISHLI, syria (North Press) – The Lebanese judiciary received a formal request from France on Monday seeking aid in locating and arresting senior authorities from the former syrian/" class="auto-internal-link">syrian regime accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, judicial sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday. The request, delivered to Lebanon’s Chief Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Hajjar, calls for efforts to track down Syria’s former Air Force Intelligence chief Jamil al-Hassan, former National security Director Ali Mamlouk, and former Air Intelligence investigator Abdelsalam Mahmoud. France urged Lebanon to determine whether the authorities are on its territory and to arrest and hand them over if found. as per Asharq Al-Awsat, the French judicial request is linked to ongoing proceedings against ousted leader Bashar al-Assad and members of his regime over the deaths of French citizens of Syrian origin who were allegedly tortured and killed in Syrian detention centers.
A Lebanese judicial source stated Hajjar tasked the Internal Security troops’ Information Branch with verifying the suspects’ presence in Lebanon and investigating phone contacts linked to them. French courts have issued three arrest warrants against Assad, including one this year over the 2013 chemical attacks near Damascus.
Additionally, lebanon has previously received Interpol notices seeking the detention of both al-Hassan and Mamlouk, though no arrests have been made to date. By Jwan Shekaki