Syrian poet and diplomat Nour Al-Din Labad killed after returning to his hometown from France
A prominent Franco-Syrian activist has been killed in Daraa, days after he returned to his hometown, The National understands. Nour Al-Din Labad, a former Syrian diplomat who defected from the Assad regime in the early years of the civil war was killed on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen. Mr Labad, who held a PhD in French literature and lived in exile in France, had become the opposition coalition's (SNC) representative there during the civil war. He returned to his hometown of Sanamayn in Daraa province recently, despite security concerns and clashes between the government's forces and militias linked to Muhsin Al Haimad, a former regime loyalist who has entrenched his men there. The killing was confirmed by his associate Bashar Hajj Ali, a Brussels-based representative of the SNC, who added that the funeral took place on Wednesday. The new authorities entered Sanamayn earlier this month, capturing dozens of Mr Al Haimad's men. Those close to Mr Labad believe his killing was by gunmen linked to Mr Al Haimad, who held him responsible for the government's intervention in Daraa. Mr Hajj Ali said he had spoken to Mr Labad just days before the attack. 'He wanted to be home with his family. I told him he would be safer in Damascus, he said he felt safe and that everything so far had been fine,' he told The National. Mr Labad was also a poet who wrote about revolution, war and exile. Of his return to Sanamayn earlier this month, he wrote on social media: "Fifty-five years ago, here in this pool, my grandfather taught me to swim, and here I used to herd the cows with him. I know every rock, rock by rock, every stone, stone by stone, and the waterways and pools, and how the hissing water used to flow." Videos on social media show he was celebrated by locals holding up Syria's new revolutionary flag when he returned to Sanamayn. France has granted asylum to around 30,000 Syrians since the start of a civil war in 2011. The government last month allowed them to return home temporarily without losing their refugee status. Asylum is normally withdrawn if a person returns to their home country. Under French law, this means they are on longer in need of France's protection. Syrians living in France have previously told The National that while they are keen to visit family after more than a decade of separation, they are unsure whether the country will remain stable enough for them to return in the long-term. France had cut off ties with the former Assad regime, but French diplomats have regularly been travelling back and forth to Damascus since the rebel take-over in December. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was among the most vocal of the EU's 27 countries in calling for a lifting of transport and energy sanctions against Syria – a move greenlighted by Brussels last month. The EU's foreign ministers are set to examine further sanction lifting at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. European capitals will be watching closely how the new authorities in Damascus will implement justice in the case of killings such as that of Mr Labad's. The massacre of hundreds of Alawites on the Syrian coast in the past week has raised fears of a new civil war. The announcement by interim President Ahmad Al Shara that an independent investigative committee would look into the murders has been welcomed in Europe. But the view is also that it is not enough: killers must face justice so that trust in Mr Al Shara's government can be consolidated. 'Everything must be done to prevent any such crimes from happening again,' the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement on Tuesday on behalf of the EU. The bloc highlighted that its recent suspension of sanctions on Syria is a reversible process. Sanctions may be reinstated if the EU feels that Damascus does not respect the rights of minorities, women and the rule of law. 'The EU will continue to examine possible further sanctions suspensions on the basis of close monitoring of the situation in the country,' said the statement.
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Middle East Eye
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The four ICC judges sanctioned by the US for Palestine and Afghanistan work
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Judges are nominated by state parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, and then elected by the Assembly of States Parties, the court's governing body. Judges must demonstrate high moral character, impartiality and integrity, meeting the qualifications required in their home countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices. Once elected, ICC judges serve a non-renewable nine-year term. Below are the profiles of the four judges sanctioned by the Trump administration on 5 June 2025. Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda) Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa is a Ugandan jurist currently serving as a judge on the Appeals Chamber of the ICC, to which she was elected in 2017 and sworn in in March 2018. She has participated in appellate proceedings before the ICC concerning several landmark cases, including The Prosecutor v Bosco Ntaganda and The Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen. 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Judge Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza (Peru) Judge Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza, a Peruvian jurist, has served on the Appeals Chamber of the ICC since March 2018. Elected by the Assembly of States Parties in December 2017, she is the first Peruvian to hold a judgeship at the ICC. From 2021 to 2024, she served as first vice-president of the court, contributing to its administrative leadership alongside her judicial responsibilities. Prior to joining the ICC, Judge Ibanez Carranza held senior prosecutorial roles within Peru's national justice system, according to her official ICC profile. She served as a senior national prosecutor in the country's specialised system for addressing terrorism, grave human rights violations and crimes against humanity. In this capacity, she also acted as the coordinator of 17 prosecutorial offices responsible for such cases. During her tenure as a public prosecutor in her home country, Judge Ibanez Carranza implemented a range of victim-centred measures aimed at supporting reparations processes. These included efforts to search for missing persons, recover and identify remains from mass graves, and facilitate the return of those remains to victims' families. She also played a role in organising public ceremonies in which the Peruvian state issued official apologies and took part in operations to rescue children abducted by armed groups. Her work extended beyond the national context, as she was appointed on multiple occasions to represent Peru before international bodies. These included the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), among others. Judge Ibanez Carranza holds a doctorate and a master's degree in criminal law from Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, and degrees in law and political science from Universidad Nacional de Trujillo. She also spent over 20 years as a university lecturer, teaching criminal law, criminal procedure and human rights law. Judge Ibanez Carranza has participated in appellate proceedings for landmark cases, including The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda and The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen. Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou (Benin) Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou, from Benin, is the second vice-president of the ICC and a member of Pre-Trial Chamber I. She was a member of the Pre-Trial Chamber that issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March. On 13 November, a court in Moscow ordered her arrest in absentia over what the court said was an 'illegal' arrest warrant issued for Putin. Alapini-Gansou began her term as an ICC judge on 11 March 2018. 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She concluded that 'with Palestine's accession to the statute, the legal framework has changed and the parties to the conflict would be wise to accept and respect that'. Hohler began her career in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where she served at the Court of Appeals before working as a senior associate at a law firm. She regularly trains judges and advocates. Hohler is also co-founder of the Institute for International Legal and Advocacy Training in The Hague. According to her official profile, Hohler is the recipient of several awards, including the 2012 EU Common Security and Defence Policy Service Medal, awarded for her service in the Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo. She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and another one in international and European law from the University of Amsterdam.
Middle East Eye
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Ex-CIA officer running Gaza aid security advised Boston Consulting Group
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Middle East Eye
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French woman files complaint against Israel over killing of grandchildren in Gaza
A grandmother has filed a complaint for murder and genocide against Israeli authorities, accusing them of responsibility for killing her two Palestinian-French grandchildren in Gaza. Israeli forces killed six-year-old Abderrahim Abudaher and nine-year-old Janna Abudaher in northern Gaza on 24 October 2023. Their maternal grandmother, Jacqueline Rivault - a French national living in France - filed the complaint on Friday in Paris alongside the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LDH). The filing, submitted to the crimes against humanity unit of the Paris judicial court, accuses Israeli authorities of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. This is the first complaint brought before the French courts based on the passive personality principle - that is, based on the victims' French nationality - to address the issue of responsibility for these crimes, the LDH said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters This civil action complaint seeks the appointment of an investigating judge. The victims' French nationality could trigger the direct jurisdiction of the French courts and lead them to rule on these accusations of "genocide". "This complaint aims to contribute to preventing and prosecuting those responsible, whether soldiers or politicians, for the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, which indiscriminately affects the entire civilian population of the enclave," the LDH said. According to the 43-page complaint, which has been shared with Middle East Eye, the "extreme violence" and "regular bombardments" by the Israeli army on Gaza after 7 October led the family to take refuge in a house in the northern Gaza Strip, between Fallujah and Beit Lahia. There, the house was targeted by "two F16 missiles fired by the Israeli army," one of which hit "through the roof and the second directly into the bedroom where the family was staying". First Gaza genocide cases against French nationals filed in Paris Read More » Abderrahim died "instantly" and Janna shortly after being transferred to the hospital, according to the complaint. Their younger brother, Omar, was seriously wounded but still lives in Gaza, as does his mother, Yasmine Z. The complaint accuses the Israeli authorities of genocide because the bombing is presented as part of a plan to "eliminate the Palestinian population and subject them to conditions of existence likely to bring about the destruction of their group". Though it is filed against unknown persons, it specifically names Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of the Israeli government and the Israeli army. The complaint notes that the intention to eradicate the Palestinian people was evident from the statements made by political and military leaders, in particular Netanyahu. The aim of the complaint, explained Rivault's lawyer Arie Alimi, is to ensure the arrest of those responsible. "Those who were involved, in one way or another, in acts that could be classified as crimes against humanity or genocide, must know that upon leaving Israel's borders, they can be arrested anywhere," he said. Rivault's only daughter, Yasmine, had gone to Gaza to do humanitarian work. It was there that she met her husband. Her mother said the French government "should have evacuated the French nationals living in the Gaza Strip". The 'weapon' of criminal law The LDH said The complaint is intended to have a political impact and is one of many efforts aimed at bringing "these crimes" to an end as soon as possible. Its president, Nathalie Tehio, qualified criminal law as 'a weapon that allows us to try to stop this infernal mechanism of genocide that we are witnessing." The LDH is part of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which was among the first groups to to declare that Israel was committing genocide, followed by Amnesty International a year later and Human Rights Watch. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on Israel to prevent any act of genocide. The Hind Rajab Foundation: Pursuing Israeli soldiers worldwide for Gaza war crimes Read More » Since then, a number of legal actions have been taken in connection with "genocide" accusations against Israel, for example in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany. In France, three complaints have been filed in recent months against French-Israeli nationals accused of genocide or complicity. Last December, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with three Palestinian organisations, filed a complaint against French-Israeli soldier Yoel O. He is accused of posting a video on social media showing detained Palestinians in white jumpsuits, blindfolded and handcuffed - one of whom appears to show visible signs of torture. The man behind the camera can be heard insulting the detainees in French. No judicial investigation has been opened in France to date. On Friday, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office opened a judicial investigation into French-Israelis suspected of involvement in blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza between January and May 2024. The probe includes charges of complicity in genocide, incitement to genocide, and complicity in crimes against humanity, AFP reported, citing a source close to the case. The investigation follows a complaint filed in November 2024 by the French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP) and a French-Palestinian victim. The complaint accuses individuals of organising and participating in actions to block humanitarian aid to Gaza - specifically by physically obstructing aid trucks at Israeli-controlled border crossings. The civil action names figures reportedly with French nationality from two pro-Israel groups, Israel is Forever and Tzav-9.
