Salah Habib
Context
Ongoing investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes by supplying equipment and components allegedly used by the Syrian regime for the surveillance and repression of opponents, as well as materials allegedly used for the production of chemical weapons, through a company based in France and in the United Arab Emirates
Type of jurisdiction
Active personality
Suspect
Salah Habib,French-Syrian national, head of the company Yona Star
Country of residence of suspect
France
Charges
Conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity; complicity in crimes against humanity and in war crimes; laundering the proceeds of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Current status
Charged while under investigation (mis en examen); under house arrest and judicial surveillance
Facts
The suspect and his company Yona Star are suspected of having provided support to the Syrian army through the sale of equipment and components used directly for the surveillance and repression of the population, despite an international embargo. The materials allegedly included items that may have been used in the production of chemical weapons.
Procedure
In 2016, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed financial sanctions on the suspect and his company Yona Star and blacklisted them as it found that they had transported goods to Damascus in violation of an international embargo.
In June 2017, a preliminary investigation was opened by the French Specialized Unit for the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture of the Paris Tribunal (integrated in 2019 within the newly created French National Anti-Terrorist Prosecution Office).
On 25 December 2021, the suspect was arrested in France and charged while under investigation for conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity, complicity in crimes against humanity and complicity in war crimes as well as for the laundering the proceeds of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was placed in pre- trial detention.
Developments in 2022
In January 2022, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with its member organization in France, the Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH), and the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression were admitted as civil parties.
On 17 February 2022, the investigative judge released the suspect from pre-trial detention and placed him under house arrest and electronic surveillance. This decision was confirmed by the Paris Court of Appeals on 24 February 2022.
