The uncle of Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad is set to go on trial in
Paris Monday on charges of building up a property empire in
France using funds from Syrian state coffers.
Rifaat al-Assad, dubbed the "Butcher of Hama" for allegedly commanding troops that put down an uprising in central
Syria in 1982, has been under investigation in France since 2014.
This year, an investigating magistrate ordered he stand trial for organised money laundering in building a 90-million-euro ($99.5-million) property portfolio in France.