On Tuesday, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor requested the identification of the whereabouts of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and 20 individuals linked to him, in connection with investigations into crimes against humanity relating to the killing of journalists in western Syria in 2012.

According to AFP, the prosecutor suspects a “coordinated plan” to shell a press center in the Baba Amr district of Homs—an attack that reportedly occurred after a meeting involving “all military and security commanders” in the city.

In a supplementary indictment dated July 7, the investigating magistrates were asked to determine the location of approximately twenty people, including close associates of Bashar al-Assad.

Among the accused are:

- Maher al-Assad, Bashar’s brother and then-commander of Syria’s 4th Armored Division

- Ali Mamlouk, former head of Syrian General Intelligence

- Ali Ayoub, chair of the military-security committee in Homs in February 2012

- Rafiq Shehadeh, who held the same role at the time of the attack

 On February 21, 2012, Western journalists who had entered the besieged city of Homs found shelter in a house that had been converted into a press center in Baba Amr, a stronghold of the Free Syrian Army. In the early hours, explosions rocked the district, signaling an attack by regime forces. Two journalists—Marie Colvin (aged 56) and Rémi Ochlik (aged 28)—were killed by mortar fire.

 French authorities launched an investigation into the killing and attempted killing of French nationals in March 2012. By October 2014, the scope had expanded to include war crimes, and in December 2024, charges of crimes against humanity were added—an unprecedented move regarding the murder of journalists.