Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Diplomatic sources in Tokyo told Arab News Japan that there is a high likelihood that Syria’s new government will formally request Russia to extradite the deposed President, Bashar Assad, to stand trial in Syria for his alleged crimes against humanity.

This process, if initiated, could have significant geopolitical implications.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly, granted Assad and his family “a humanitarian” refugee status to Russia.

The sources said reports coming from Syria proved Assad was responsible, among other crimes, for having thousands of people locked up in prisons in sub-human conditions for decades.

The new Syrian transition government might also consider seeking Russia’s assistance in tracking the money “stolen” by Assad and his family and cronies from the country’s banks so it can be returned to the Syrian people.

The sources indicated that the latest attacks by Israel against almost all major Syrian military establishments were part of what could be a plot by Assad to guarantee his escape without Israel intercepting his flight out of the country.

“The sequence of the events indicates why Assad disbanded the Syrian army before his deserting the country, an act for Israel’s sake to destroy the remaining power of the Syrian army, in return for the safety of his flight fleeing the country,” the source said. “Assad escaping like that is a betrayal for Syria. This is why Assad must be brought back to stand trial.”

Meanwhile, Japan’s largest daily newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, branded the Assad regime as a “puppet” for Russia.

The paper said in an editorial on Tuesday that the collapse of the Assad regime is a major blow to Russia and could presage a decline in its influence in the Middle East and Africa.

“Putin’s administration had supported the authoritarian Assad regime as a ‘puppet state,’ providing large-scale airstrikes on opposition forces during its civil war and bolstering the Assad regime. But this had to change,” according to the Yomiuri.

“Russia had effectively abandoned the Assad regime due to its heavy involvement in Ukraine and the need to move back home some of its air defense missiles and troops from Syria.

In return for its military intervention in 2015, Russia acquired the Hmeimim Air Base in western Syria. It also strengthened the functions of the Tartus Naval Base, the only repair and maintenance base for the Russian military in the Mediterranean, and the air base is used as a supply base to deliver supplies to Russian troops deployed in Africa.

Despite being previously labeled as ‘terrorists’ by the Russian military, rebel forces have reportedly reached an agreement with Russia to ensure the security of both the Hmeimim Air Base and the Tartus Naval Base. This unexpected alliance could potentially shift the balance of power in the region, according to the paper.