Al Assad’s uncle sentenced to 4 years in jail in France

Rifaat, seen as man behind 1982 Hama massacre, found guilty of property fraud in Paris

Last updated: June 17, 2020 | 16:04

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In this file photo taken on December 6, 2007 a member of the Alawite community pastes on a wall, in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli pictures of Syrian opposition leader Rifaat Al Assad.

AFP

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Paris: The uncle of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad was found guilty of acquiring millions of euros worth of French property using funds diverted from the Syrian state and sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday.

The French court also ruled that all of Rifaat Al Assad’s property in France be seized as well as a property worth 29 million euros in London.

Al Assad is a former military commander, widely held responsible for crushing an Islamist uprising in 1982 against then-president Hafez Al Assad, Bashar’s father. Many thousands were killed.

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