France's highest court, the Cour de cassation, annulled the arrest warrant issued against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad related to alleged chemical attacks in 2013. The decision, announced on July 25, 2025, was based on the principle that no exception can override the personal immunity of a sitting head of state. The warrant had been requested to be maintained earlier in July by French prosecutors, who accused Assad and about 20 other former Syrian officials, including his brother Maher al-Assad, of crimes against humanity linked to the 2013 chemical attacks in Eastern Ghouta and the 2012 shelling of a press center in Homs that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Rémi Ochlik. The French anti-terror prosecutors had also sought to locate Assad and other Syrian regime figures as part of ongoing investigations into these incidents. While the arrest warrant was annulled, the court indicated that a new warrant could potentially be issued in the future. The initial warrant and investigations were part of France's judicial efforts to hold Syrian officials accountable for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Syrian conflict.