The EU has sanctioned 5 individuals linked to the former Assad regime under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. Three are ex-members of the Republican Guard and Armed Forces — Miqdad Fatiha, Ghiath (misspelled as Gaith) Dalla, and Suhayl al-Hassan — implicated in rights abuses under Assad and involved in the March 2025 sectarian violence in Syria. Two others, Mudalal and Imad Khoury, are businessmen who backed the Assad regime and handled its financial interests in Russia. By using the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime – rather than the Syria-specific regime – the EU opted for a framework that allows for targeted sanctions against human rights violators globally, without sustaining obsolete, country-specific instruments that have stronger chilling effect. In a paper with OPEN, Vittorio Maresca and Dr. Karam Shaar recommended this approach.
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