Syrian authorities have arrested a former military officer accused of supervising the production of sarin-filled bombs used in chemical attacks between 2013 and 2017, opening a legal process that rights advocates say could expose the wider structure behind Syria's chemical weapons program.
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The Syrian Interior Ministry said Col. Ahmad Habib Ali, a former chemical weapons specialist, headed a department at the Scientific Studies and Research Center and oversaw sarin storage and chemical production at Unit 417.
Preliminary investigations indicate Ali supervised the production of about 20 aerial bombs, each containing roughly 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of sarin, authorities said. The munitions were allegedly used against Syrian towns and cities from 2013 to 2017.
The investigation remains underway before the case is referred to the judiciary. Syrian Interior Ministry sources declined to provide The Media Line with details beyond the official statement, while a Syrian Justice Ministry source said the case remained with the relevant authorities.
Syrian lawyer Louay al-Hassani told The Media Line the arrest represented "the beginning of the judicial process, not its conclusion." Investigators must collect evidence and question witnesses and experts before determining whether the case should proceed to trial, he said.
Potential charges include murder, crimes against humanity
Potential charges could include murder and participation in the use of prohibited weapons, as well as war crimes or crimes against humanity if supported by evidence.
Fadel Abdulghany, executive director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, called the arrest "an important and positive step toward accountability" but warned that one prosecution alone would not constitute justice.
He said chemical attacks involved an organized military and security structure and called for investigations across the chain of command. Abdulghany also urged cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism.
The arrest came days after the OPCW Executive Council adopted decisions concerning Syria following increased cooperation by the country's new authorities in identifying remnants of the former chemical weapons program.
For Rua, who lost both parents in the August 21, 2013, sarin attack on Eastern Ghouta, the arrest offered a possible path toward answers: "The arrest won't bring them back," she told The Media Line. "But maybe it's the beginning of finding the truth."