France upholds 4-year prison sentence for Bashar al-Assad's uncle
Court also decides to confiscate Rifaat al-Assad's assets in France, worth €90 million
PARIS
The Paris Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a four-year prison sentence given to the uncle of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad for "misappropriating public funds and money laundering.”
Eighty-four-year-old Rifaat al-Assad, who did not attend the hearing, was sentenced last year by the Paris Criminal Court for his crimes between 1996-2016.
The court also decided to confiscate his assets in France, which are estimated to be worth €90 million ($106 million), as it is also known that he owns many luxury properties in Paris and Lyon.
Assad was also found guilty of establishing a "real estate empire" by illegally using Syrian state funds.
According to Amnesty International, then Chief of General Staff Rifaat al-Assad is held responsible for the 1982 Hama massacre, where between 10,000 and 25,000 civilians lost their lives.
Two years after Hama, he tried to overthrow his brother Hafez al-Assad and was exiled from Syria.
It is known that Rifaat has been in Paris, London and Marbella, Spain from time to time.
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