Facts
During the Syrian civil war, the Syrian intelligence services systematically arrested, tortured and killed opposition activists. As a former member of the General Intelligence Services (GIS), Abdulhamid Chaban was investigated for his alleged participation in crimes committed by the Syrian regime against the civilian population between 2011 and 2013.
Procedure
On 12 February 2019, the French authorities arrested Chaban in the Paris region on suspicion of crimes against humanity, following his application for asylum. On the same day, German authorities arrested two other former intelligence officials, Anwar Raslan and Eyad al-Gharib, in Germany. The arrests were coordinated in the context of a joint French-German investigation.
On 15 February 2019, Chaban was charged while under investigation (mis en examen) for complicity in the crimes against humanity of imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape and serious bodily harm. He was immediately placed in pre-trial detention.
On 22 February 2019, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with its member organization in France, the Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), were admitted as civil parties.
On 12 August 2019, Chaban filed an appeal against his indictment on the grounds of procedural irregularities and the lack of French courts’ jurisdiction over crimes against humanity committed in Syria. The Court of Appeal did not grant his request.
In 2020, Chaban was released from pre-trial detention. He was placed under judicial surveillance.
On 18 February 2021, Chaban challenged the Court of Appeal’s decision regarding French courts’ jurisdictions before the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation).
On 24 November 2021, the Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision, considering that, in order to be prosecuted in France, the French legal framework requires that crimes against humanity are also punishable per se under Syrian law (double criminality rule), which is not the case.
On 7 December 2021, FIDH opposed the Supreme Court’s decision as it had not been notified of the Court hearing and was, therefore, not able to participate in it. The Supreme Court thus annulled its November 2021 decision and ordered a new hearing.
On 17 March 2023, the Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) held a hearing in plenary session on the case, together with the Majdi Nema case, to determine whether French courts have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of torture committed in Syria, although those legal qualifications are not embedded in Syrian legislation. This time, FIDH participated in the hearing and was able to present its arguments.
On 12 May 2023, the Supreme Court issued two distinct decisions (in the Nema and the Chaban case) which both overturned the conclusions it had reached in its November 2021 decision. In the Chaban case, the Court concluded that, for French authorities to prosecute international crimes under universal jurisdiction, it is sufficient for the foreign legislation of the country where the crimes were committed to punish the underlying acts of international crimes (such as murder or rape), even if these are not explicitly classified as crimes against humanity. Doing so, the French Supreme Court definitively confirmed the French courts’ jurisdiction over crimes against humanity committed in Syria.
On 5 August 2025, the investigating judges completed their investigation.
The prosecutor will issue a formal request concerning the direction of the case (referral to trial, dismissal, or reopening of the investigation). The investigating judges will subsequently determine the direction of the case.