PARIS – French cement maker Lafarge on Wednesday was dealt a blow as a Paris appeals court docket upheld costs of “complicity in crimes in opposition to humanity” in Syria, which have been weighing on the corporate for years.
A authorized adviser for the European Middle for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which is a celebration to the case, advised Reuters the Paris court docket of Appeals confirmed a ruling by France’s highest court docket, which final yr mentioned Lafarge could be probed for costs linked to crimes in opposition to humanity for maintaining a manufacturing unit working in Syria after battle erupted in 2011.
The choice, one other procedural step in a posh investigation, shouldn't be a last verdict on the crimes as such.
The investigation into Lafarge, now a part of Switzerland-listed Holcim, is without doubt one of the most intensive and complicated company legal proceedings in modern French authorized historical past.
In 2021, Lafarge misplaced a bid to dismiss the cost of complicity in crimes in opposition to humanity in Syria’s battle when France’s highest court docket mentioned the matter needs to be re-examined, overturning an earlier ruling.
The corporate has beforehand admitted, following its personal inside investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed teams to assist defend employees on the plant.
But it surely has rejected a number of costs in opposition to it as a part of the French authorized probe, together with that it was complicit in crimes in opposition to humanity due to its dealings with militant teams within the space, which included Islamic State.
Ought to Lafarge be indicted on the costs, it might set a historic precedent as no French agency has but been tried in connection to crimes in opposition to humanity.
Holcim shares have been down simply over one % in noon commerce.
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