France’s top court accused French firm Lafarge of committing ‘crimes against humanity’ in Syria.
The court overturned a decision by a lower court to dismiss charges brought against cement giant Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity in Syria’s civil war.
In addition, the court accused French Firm of paying nearly 13 million EUR to the Islamic State (IS). The payment aimed to keep its cement factory in northern Syria running through the early years of the country’s war.
The court ruled that “the firm’s involvement in crimes against humanity even if it doesn’t have the intention of committing the crimes.”
“Knowingly paying several million dollars to an organisation whose sole purpose was exclusively criminal suffices to constitute complicity, it added.
The judges added that “numerous acts of complicity” would go unpunished if courts adopted a more lenient interpretation.
The court ruling marks a major setback for Lafarge.
However, it denied any responsibility for the money winding up in the hands of terrorist groups. Thus, it has fought to have the case dropped.
Govt Officials Knew About the Deal
The French daily newspaper, Liberation, affirmed that French state officials knew about Lafarge’s deal with IS terrorists.
According to an intelligence document, French state officials were informed about payments made by cement giant Lafarge to Daesh terrorists in Syria.
