Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be officially investigated by France for alleged human rights crimes, according to The New York Times.
This will be the first inquiry into claims of human rights violations under Assad, who is currently the leader of a fractured nation. Syria has been engaged in civil war for the past four years. Assad has been accused of torturing people. Tens of thousands of photographs seem to confirm these claims, which France will now investigate to see if there is any truth to them.
"Faced with these crimes that offend the human conscience, this bureaucracy of horror, faced with this denial of the values of humanity, it is our responsibility to act against the impunity of the killers," French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement, The New York Times reported.
The photographs allegedly showing torture are from a former officer in Syria who left the country in 2013, according to Fox News. A spokesperson for the French prosecutor's office, Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, said that the investigation is still in its earliest stages. France has opposed Assad's leadership, but Russia currently supports his presidency. The United States also opposes an Assad-led Syria.
France made the announcement about the investigation Wednesday, shortly after the subject of Syria was discussed at the United Nations General Assembly, according to Yahoo! News. The French agency which handles war crimes will lead the investigation into Assad.
