The association Sherpa and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) welcome the nomination of three investigative judges by the Paris High Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance)...to instruct claims that include financing of terrorism and deliberate endangerment of people against the Franco-Swiss industrial group LafargeHolcim.

The judicial investigation entrusted to these three experienced judges since last Friday follows the complaint to which Sherpa, ECCHR, and a number of Syrian plaintiffs directly victims of the named violations are civil parties. The appointment of this group of renowned investigative judges is the guarantee that all the investigations necessary and useful to the establishment of the truth will be conducted in complete independence, and that all responsibilities will be identified...

Wolfgang Kaleck, ECCHR General Secretary, adds: "Businesses that profit from armed conflict situations risk being guilty of grave crimes. The formal opening of the investigations in the Lafarge case in Syria is an important step to demonstrate that corporations are not beyond the law and must be held to account."