Three senior Syrian officials will face trial in absentia in a Paris court on Tuesday accused of involvement in the disappearance and subsequent death of a French-Syrian father and his son.
It is the first time that a serving Syrian official will go on trial for alleged war crimes.
The long-running case revolves around the disappearance and subsequent death of father Mazen Dabbagh and his son Patrick, who were arrested by Syrian Airforce Intelligence agents in Syria in November 2013 and later died in custody.
One of the officers accused of complicity in their disappearance and torture - Ali Mamlouk - is still in the Syrian security apparatus, as a security adviser to President Bashar al-Assad. The two others - Jamil Hassan and Abdel Salam Mahmoud - are a former director and director of investigation at the Airforce Intelligence unit.
None of the three accused will attend the trial in the Cour d'Assises, which is scheduled to last four days.