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Rifaat Assad, on Trial for Fraud, Hospitalized in Paris

Rifaat Assad. (AP file photo)
Rifaat Assad. (AP file photo)
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Rifaat Assad, on Trial for Fraud, Hospitalized in Paris

Rifaat Assad. (AP file photo)
Rifaat Assad. (AP file photo)

Rifaat Assad, uncle of the Syrian regime leader, has been hospitalized in Paris while standing trial for money laundering, his son told AFP Tuesday.

"He has been in intensive care since last night (Monday)" at the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine west of Paris, Siwar al-Assad said.

Rifaat al-Assad suffered from a form of internal bleeding "and is not very well". He will need to stay in intensive care for two or three days.

The younger brother of the late Syrian president Hafez Assad -- father of the current president Bashar -- is standing trial in Paris for crimes allegedly committed between 1984 and 2016, including aggravated tax fraud and misappropriation of Syrian funds.

The charges relate to his vast property empire in France.

France's national finance prosecutor called Monday for a four-year prison sentence and a 10-million-euro fine.

The prosecutor also called for the confiscation of all his real estate, valued at 90 million euros ($99.5 million).

Rifaat al-Assad, who divides his time between France and Britain, denies the charges.

The 82-year-old, dubbed the "Butcher of Hama" for allegedly commanding troops who put down an uprising in central Syria in 1982, has been under investigation in France since 2014.

Formerly Syria's vice president, Assad left his home country in 1984 after mounting a failed coup against his brother Hafez, who led Syria from 1971 to 2000.

After he arrived in Europe, Rifaat al-Assad's lavish lifestyle, four wives and 16 children soon raised eyebrows.

His reported French fortune includes two Paris townhouses, one measuring 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet), as well as a stud farm, a chateau and 7,300 square meters of office space in Lyon.

He and his family also built up a huge portfolio of 507 properties in Spain, valued at around 695 million euros, Spanish legal documents show. All his properties in that country were seized by the authorities in 2017.

Assad's trial opened on December 9.

This is only the second trial of a foreign dignitary in France on charges related to "ill-gotten gains".

In the first, Equatorial Guinea vice president Teodorin Obiang received a three-year suspended jail term in October 2017 after being convicted of using public money to fund a jet-set lifestyle in Paris.

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Arab World

Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)

Judicial authorities in Egypt have issued an arrest and extradition warrant for Ahmad al-Mansour, who allegedly made threats against Egypt from Syria. He was reportedly apprehended by security forces in Damascus, an informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.
A source at the Syrian interior ministry told Reuters that Syria's new authorities have detained al-Mansour over threats he made to the government in Cairo.
The source said that al-Mansour has posted several videos threatening Egyptian authorities, and calling for protests.
Lately, al-Mansour had caused a huge controversy after appearing in a taped video of himself surrounded by masked fighters in a room decorated with a flag associated with the Egyptian monarchy before the 25 January revolution.
Al-Mansour's calls were rejected, even by Egyptian opponents, who said his speech harms the peacefulness of the January 25 revolution in 2011.
Research conducted by Asharq Al-Awsat found no judicial rulings recorded against al-Mansour, whether on terrorist or criminal charges.
The informed Egyptian source said the authorities issued an arrest warrant for al-Mansour on charges of joining armed terrorist groups, incitement to overthrow the regime by force of arms, and threatening Egyptian national security.
“Authorities are also preparing a file to request his extradition from Syria,” the source said.
Egypt's request to return al-Mansour does not require judicial rulings, the source added.
It is enough for Egyptian authorities to ask for his extradition on the grounds of questioning him, especially on criminal charges, the source said.
MP Mustafa Bakri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian authorities will not hand over Ahmad al-Mansour to Egypt. “They arrested al-Mansour only to prevent him from abusing authorities in Egypt and to avoid any clash with Cairo,” he said.
For his part, Syrian activist and journalist Abdul-Karim Omar, who is close to the new administration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the current Syrian authorities are careful not to turn the new Syria into a threat to any country. “They want to preserve Syria’s relationship with Egypt,” he said.
Omar said he does not know whether the administration in Syria plans to hand al-Mansour over to Egypt, but assured that the new administration is keen to get have closet ties with Cairo.