France is trying Syrian ex-officials for the torture and killing of a father and son. Here's why

PARIS (AP) — The Syrian soldiers came first, at night, for the son, Patrick, a 20-year-old psychology student at Damascus University, and said they were taking him away for questioning.

They came back the next night for his father, Mazen.

Five years later, in 2018, death certificates from Syrian authorities confirmed to the Dabbagh family that the French-Syrian father and son would never come home again.

In a landmark trial, a Paris court is seeking this week to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials — the most senior to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war — were responsible for their disappearance and deaths.

The four-day hearings started Tuesday and are expected to air chilling allegations that President Bashar Assad's government has widely used torture and arbitrary detentions to hold on to power during the conflict, now in its 14th year.

The French trial comes as Assad has been regaining an aura of international respectability, starting to shed his longtime status as a pariah that stemmed from the violence unleashed on his opponents. Human rights groups that are parties to the French case hope it will refocus attention on alleged atrocities.

Here's a look at those involved:

— Ali Mamlouk, former head of the National Security Bureau overseeing Syrian security and intelligence services. Allegedly worked directly with Assad. Now in his late 70s.

— Jamil Hassan, former Air Force intelligence director. Survivors testifying in the case allege having seen him at a detention center in the capital, Damascus, where the Dabbaghs are thought to have been held. In his early 70s.

— Salam Mahmoud, in his mid-60s, a former investigations official at a Damascus military airport believed to house the detention center. Mahmoud is alleged to have expropriated the Dabbaghs' house after they were taken away.

The three men are accused of provoking crimes against humanity, giving instructions to commit them and allowing subordinates to commit them through the alleged arrest, torture and killing of the father and son. They also are accused of confiscating their house and of putting Air Force intelligence services at the disposal of people who allegedly killed them.

The accused are being tried in absentia. French magistrates issued arrest warrants for them in October 2018, despite acknowledging that there was little likelihood of their extradition to France. There were no defense lawyers to represent them as the hearings got underway Tuesday morning. French magistrates determined they don't have diplomatic immunity.

“The three people accused are very senior officials of the Syrian system of repression and torture. This gives a particular tone to this trial. They are not small fish,” said Patrick Baudouin, a lawyer for rights groups involved in the case.

“The legal file is very detailed, full of evidence of systematic, very diverse and absolutely monstrous torture practices," Baudouin said.

Patrick and Mazen Dabbagh had dual French-Syrian nationality, which enabled French magistrates to pursue the case. The probe of their disappearance started in 2015 when Obeida Dabbagh, Mazen's brother, testified to investigators already examining war crimes in Syria.

Obeida Dabbagh lives in France with his wife, Hanane, and is also a party in the case. According to the trial indictment, seen by The Associated Press, he told French investigators that three or four soldiers came for Patrick around 11 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2013, during the height of Arab Spring-inspired anti-government protests that were met by a brutal crackdown. The soldiers identified themselves as members of a Syrian Air Force intelligence branch. Obeida also testified they searched the house, taking cellphones, computers and money.

They came back the next night for Mazen Dabbagh, who was 54 and worked as a counselor at a French high school in Damascus, and also took his new car, the brother said.

Their death certificates said Patrick died Jan. 21, 2014, and Mazen on Nov. 25, 2017, but didn't say how or where.

French investigating magistrates collected evidence from those who deserted the Syrian government and military, and prison survivors as they built the case.

Testifying anonymously, survivors' accounts speak in the indictment of rape and of being denied food and water; of beatings on the feet, knees and elsewhere with whips, cables and truncheons; of electric shocks and burnings with acid or boiling water; of being suspended from the ceiling for hours or days.

Investigators also studied images provided by a Syrian policeman, who anonymously turned over photographs of thousands of torture victims.

Cameras are generally banned from French criminal trials, but this one will be filmed for historical record.

In a separate investigation, French magistrates have also targeted President Assad himself but face questions about whether he benefits from presidential immunity.

Magistrates are investigating chemical weapons' attacks that killed more than 1,000 people and injured thousands of others in the suburbs of Damascus in 2013. They issued international arrest warrants for Assad, his brother Maher Assad, commander of the 4th Armored Division, and two Syrian army generals — Ghassan Abbas and Bassam al-Hassan — for alleged complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The French probe was opened in 2021 in response to a criminal complaint by attack survivors. The investigation is being conducted under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which argues that in some cases, crimes can be pursued outside the countries where they take place.

The Syrian government and its allies have denied responsibility for the attacks.

The French warrants, very rare for a serving world leader, were seen as a strong signal against Assad’s leadership at a time when some countries have welcomed him back into the diplomatic fold. Victims' lawyers hailed the warrants as “a crucial milestone in the battle against impunity.”

The Paris appeals court is weighing whether Assad has absolute immunity as head of state. French prosecutors asked it to rule on that question at a closed hearing May 15.

That procedure does not impact the warrants for Assad’s brother and the generals.

In March, Swiss prosecutors indicted Rifat Assad, the president’s uncle and a former Syrian vice president, for allegedly ordering murder and torture more than four decades ago to crush an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement, in the city of Hama, where thousands were killed.

A court in Stockholm put a former Syrian army general who lives in Sweden on trial in April for his alleged role in war crimes in 2012.

Courts in Germany found two former Syrian soldiers guilty in 2021 and 2022 of crimes against humanity. One was sentenced to life imprisonment, the other to 4 1/2 years for complicity. They had claimed refugee status in Germany before former detainees recognized them there. They were tried under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Surk reported from Nice, France. Associated Press writer Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Lawyer Clemence Bectarte, second left, arrives at the court room with Syrian lawyer Mazen Darwish, center, Obeida Dabbagh,brother of Mazen Dabbagh, second right and his wife Hanane, Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the courtroom in Paris. A Paris court will this week seek to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials — the most senior to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war — were responsible for the 2013 disappearance and deaths of Patrick and his father Mazen. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lawyer Clemence Bectarte answers reporters Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at a courtroom in Paris. A Paris court will this week seek to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials — the most senior to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war — were responsible for the 2013 disappearance and deaths of Patrick Dabbagh and his father Mazen. The four-day hearings, starting Tuesday, are expected to air chilling allegations that President Bashar Assad's government has widely used torture and arbitrary detentions to hold on to power during the conflict, now in its 14th year. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lawyer Clemence Bectarte, left, arrives at the court room with Syrian lawyer Mazen Darwish, second left, Obeida Dabbagh,brother of Mazen Dabbagh, second right and his wife Hanane, Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the courtroom in Paris. A Paris court will this week seek to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials — the most senior to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war — were responsible for the 2013 disappearance and deaths of Patrick and his father Mazen. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lawyer Clemence Bectarte answers reporters Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at a courtroom in Paris. A Paris court will this week seek to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials — the most senior to go on trial in a European court over crimes allegedly committed during the country's civil war — were responsible for the 2013 disappearance and deaths of Patrick Dabbagh and his father Mazen. The four-day hearings, starting Tuesday, are expected to air chilling allegations that President Bashar Assad's government has widely used torture and arbitrary detentions to hold on to power during the conflict, now in its 14th year. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

FILE - In this photo released on Nov. 9, 2019 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks in Damascus, Syria. In a landmark trial, a Paris court will this week seek Tuesday May 21, 2024 to determine whether Syrian intelligence officials were responsible for Patrick and Mazzen Dabbagh's disappearance and deaths. The hearings are expected to air chilling allegations that President Bashar Assad's regime has widely used torture and arbitrary detentions to keep power in Syria's civil war. (SANA via AP, File)

PARIS (AP) — France defeated Argentina 3-2 on penalties under the lights of the Eiffel Tower for the gold medal in blind football on the penultimate day of the Paralympic Games.

Frederic Villeroux scored the decisive spot kick to get the partisan home fans’ party underway after the teams drew 1-1 in normal time on Saturday.

Villeroux made the breakthrough in the 12th minute when he rifled a shot inside the left post, but Argentine star forward Maximiliano Espinillo replied from close range straight away after the French defenders failed to clear the ball.

France is the first team other than Brazil to win blind football at a Paralympics. Brazil had won all five previous golds since it was first played at the 2004 Athens Games.

The five-time defending champion, which had never lost a match before Thursday's penalty loss to Argentina in the semifinals, was consoled by the bronze medal after a 1-0 win over Colombia thanks to a fierce strike from Jefinho in the 24th minute.

Known as the “Paralympic Pelé” because of speed and skill, Jefinho scored in off the left post despite facing two defenders, setting off a roar of appreciation around the Eiffel Tower Stadium.

Blind football is an adaptation of soccer for teams of five players with an audible ball of rattles. The four outfield players must be classified as completely blind, while the goalkeeper is sighted and instructs his teammates where to go. A guide behind the opposition goal also instructs the attacking players.

Though the four outfield Argentine players couldn’t have seen the sea of French flags around the stadium, they would have heard the fevered rendition of the French anthem around them, and chants of “Allez les Bleus” from the home crowd. The fans were quiet when the ball was in play so the players could hear their guides’ instructions.

As fulltime approached, the supporters started a boisterous Mexican wave during a break in play. It continued silently when play resumed – so the players would not be disturbed.

On another solid day for United States athletes, Jake Williams scored 26 points as the men won the wheelchair basketball gold by beating Britain 73-69.

That made it three from three for the U.S. in Games basketball after the men and women won thrilling finals against France at the Olympics last month, also at Bercy Arena.

Fans at Bercy are used to hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and they will listen to it again if the women's team wins its final against the Netherlands on Sunday.

Earlier, Germany's men won the bronze-medal match against Canada 75-62.

Meanwhile, the U.S. sitting volleyball team made it three golds straight by defeating China 3-1 in the women's final. The Americans have won every title since 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. equestrian team won three more medals in Paralympics dressage, and Fiona Howard and Rebecca Hart clinched their third gold medals of the Paris Games.

The Paralympic debutant Howard won the Grade II individual freestyle and the veteran Hart won it in Grade III. Earlier, teammate Kate Shoemaker claimed bronze in Grade IV.

Riders compete in five grades, with Grade I for the most severely impaired riders.

Howard and Hart previously won individual golds this week and helped the U.S. win the team event on Friday.

American swimmer Jessica Long extended her mammoth Paralympics medal collection to 31 with gold in the S8 100-meter butterfly.

She won in 1 minute, 10.59 seconds at La Défense Arena, finishing one second clear of Viktoriia Ishchiulova. Britain's Alice Tai was third.

The 32-year-old Long also won the women's 400 freestyle on Wednesday.

Her Paralympic career started when she was 12 and won three golds at the 2004 Athens Games.

S8 is for swimmers with the absence of limbs. Long is a double amputee.

AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

Jessica Long, of the U.S., waves to the crowd after winning the gold medal women's 400 freestyle S8 final during the 2024 Paris Paralympics, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Jackson Ranger)

Fiona Howard of the U.S. competes in the individual Freestyle Event - Grade II at the Château de Versailles at the 2024 Paralympics, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kileigh Kane)

Rebecca Hart of the U.S. competes at the Individual Freestyle Event - Grade III at Château de Versailles at the 2024 Paralympics, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Kileigh Kane)