Paris (awp) – The French Court of Cassation will deliver a verdict in the Lafarge court case in Syria early next year. A hearing in an ongoing appeal process took place this week.
As is well known, the French cement manufacturer Lafarge is accused of having paid bribes to the so-called Islamic State (IS) in 2013 and 2014 – before its takeover in 2015 by its Swiss competitor Holcim – in order to maintain production at the cement factory in Syria can.
The highest French court held a hearing in this ongoing case last Tuesday, but did not expect a decision until January 16, 2024. The AWP news agency learned this from the French court on Thursday. However, this does not deal with the content of the case, but only checks whether the law was correctly applied.
Lafarge is defending itself against the charges
Lafarge is specifically accused of complicity in crimes against humanity and endangering the lives of its Syrian employees. A verdict was confirmed by the Paris Court of Appeal last year, after which Lafarge took the verdict to the French Supreme Court in May 2022.
Lafarge is defending itself against charges of endangering the lives of its Syrian workers. The French company claimed that only Syrian law was applicable to the employment relationships.
In contrast, lawyers for the civil parties argued at a hearing in September that French law should apply. They emphasized that the French employees had been brought back to their homeland in 2012, while the Syrian employees had maintained operations.
The procedure is still a kind of preliminary trial in which the charges are determined. Only then can the main process begin.
Giant buses in USA
In fall 2022, Lafarge also agreed to a $778 million settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ). This also involved the accusation of providing material support to organizations classified as terrorist.
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