Rifaat Al Assad, nicknamed the 'Butcher of Hama', returned to Syria in 2021 after 37 years in exile. AP
Rifaat Al Assad, nicknamed the 'Butcher of Hama', returned to Syria in 2021 after 37 years in exile. AP
Rifaat Al Assad, nicknamed the 'Butcher of Hama', returned to Syria in 2021 after 37 years in exile. AP
Rifaat Al Assad, nicknamed the 'Butcher of Hama', returned to Syria in 2021 after 37 years in exile. AP

Switzerland issues arrest warrant for uncle of Syria's Assad


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Switzerland has issued an arrest warrant for the uncle of Syria's President Bashar Al Assad over war crimes allegedly committed in the 1980s.

The warrant was ordered by a Swiss court last year but made public only on Wednesday, according to activists who filed a criminal complaint.

It calls for Rifaat Al Assad to be extradited from Syria, where he returned from exile in 2021 after having assets frozen in France.

The Justice Ministry had initially denied the prosecutors' bid to arrest Mr Al Assad, 85, arguing Switzerland did not have jurisdiction to pursue him.

It was argued he was neither a Swiss citizen, nor residing in the country, and that no Swiss citizens were among the victims of the 1982 massacre in the Syrian city of Hama at the centre of the case.

But the court did not share that interpretation, saying he was staying at a Geneva hotel when Swiss prosecutors first launched their investigation into him in 2013.

That presence was enough, according to the court, to give Switzerland jurisdiction to pursue him over alleged war crimes, including the issuance of an international arrest warrant.

The warrant is meanwhile likely to go unheeded. The younger brother of former Syrian president Hafez Al Assad returned to the country in 2021 after 37 years in exile.

Rifaat Al Assad is accused of complicity in the 1982 massacre in Hama, Syria. Wikimedia Commons
Rifaat Al Assad is accused of complicity in the 1982 massacre in Hama, Syria. Wikimedia Commons

Separately implicated in French and Spanish corruption cases, he was forced into exile in 1984 after a failed attempt to overthrow his brother.

France's highest court last year confirmed a ruling that found him guilty of acquiring millions of euros' worth of property using funds diverted from the Syrian state.

The war crimes complaint was first filed a decade ago by Trial International, a human rights group that works with victims and pushes Switzerland to prosecute.

It said much of the evidence it had compiled against Mr Al Assad relates to his role in suppressing the 1982 Hama rebellion, where thousands of people were estimated to have been killed and two thirds of the city destroyed.

He was at the time in command of the Syrian Defence Forces, which is accused of "executions, enforced disappearances, rape and torture on an unimaginable scale", according to Trial. It cited estimates that as many as 40,000 people were killed across a three-week span.

In a statement, the organisation on Wednesday called on Swiss authorities to "swiftly indict and bring to trial the man nicknamed the 'Butcher of Hama'".

"It is to be welcomed that the prosecuting authorities have finally decided to request Mr Al Assad's extradition, although it is regrettable that we had to wait until his return to Syria before demanding he appear before the Swiss courts," Benoit Meystre, a legal adviser, said in the statement.

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

The biog

Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.

Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.

Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.

Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

The bio

Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district

Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school

Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family

His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people

Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned

Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates

Updated: August 16, 2023, 2:39 PM