Lafarge loses latest appeal over crimes against humanity charges
PARIS (Reuters) -A Paris appeals court docket on Wednesday rejected a request by French cement maker Lafarge to dismiss prices of complicity in crimes in opposition to humanity and endangering lives for holding a manufacturing unit working in Syria after battle broke out in 2011.
Lafarge, which grew to become a part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the topic of an investigation into its operations in Syria since 2016, in one of the intensive company felony proceedings in current French authorized historical past.
The cement maker has beforehand admitted, after its personal inner investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed teams to assist defend employees on the plant.
However it has rejected a number of prices in opposition to it as a part of a French investigation, together with that it was complicit in crimes in opposition to humanity due to its dealings with militant teams within the space, which included Islamic State.
Holcim mentioned it strongly disagreed with the Court docket of Attraction’s choice to retain complicity in crimes in opposition to humanity inside the scope of an investigation and mentioned it will attraction the choice to France’s Supreme Court docket.
“The occasions regarding Lafarge SA have been hid from our Board on the time of the merger in 2015 and go fully in opposition to our values,” Holcim mentioned in an announcement.
Wednesday’s ruling solely represents an extra stage within the long-running proceedings, which decided the scope of the costs however didn’t rule on the substance of the case.
Shares in Holcim have been down greater than 2.5% after the ruling by the Paris appeals court docket, which additionally mentioned {that a} be aware by the European Middle for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in regards to the cost was admissible to court docket.
ECCHR’s Claire Tixeire mentioned the ruling was a victory for the human rights teams that are events to the case.
“When severe crimes are dedicated, it isn’t solely political and navy leaders whose duty needs to be clarified, but additionally that of financial actors,” she mentioned in an announcement.
Ought to Lafarge be indicted, it will set a precedent as no French agency has been tried in connection to crimes in opposition to humanity.
(Reporting by Tangi Salaun; Writing by Tassilo Hummel;Enhancing by GV De Clercq and Alexander Smith)
