the city of Paris has planned to plant a new forest on the plain at Pierrelaye-Bessancourt But the plan has faced roadblocks as people debate the best use for the land French politicians are now actively pushing to make the re-greening project a reality The SMAPP plan calls for 5.2 square miles of trees and plants that's about five times the size of New York City's Central Park Source: CityLab the area acts as an unofficial landfill for Parisian trash Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information Paris has been developing quite a name for itself recently as an aggressive fighter against urban air pollution the metro area is proposing to deploy an ancient weapon: trees These trees would be planted as part of what could yet be this century’s grandest urban and suburban re-greening projects: the creation of a new forest north of the city limits that at its final 1,350 hectare (5.2 square mile) extent will be five times the size of New York’s Central Park Sherpa use the power of law to bring about systemic change Meet our team of lawyers and jurists and our Board of Directors Our commitment to accountability and transparency Changing the law to ensure a legal framework that better protects human rights and the environment Initiating legal action over violations perpetrated by economic players Empowering civil society and contributing to the circulation of knowledge and practices Exploring legal avenues and developing innovative legal concepts Exposing and ending the corporate capture on the law and public opinion Strengthening the legal liability of multinationals and facilitating access to justice for victims Taking action against illegal financial practices and giving the victims of globalisation the resources to defend themselves information and civil society initiatives in the face of threats and obstacles to 4 years in prison in particular for organised laundering of embezzlement of public funds after his trial held in his absence in December 2019 Following the confirmation of Teodorin Obiang’s conviction by the Paris Court of Appeal in February 2020 this ruling is part of the judicial saga of “ill-gotten gains” initiated by Sherpa against the laundering of the misappropriation of resources to the detriment of defrauded populations Rifaat Al Assad’s conviction following Sherpa’s complaint highlights the importance of civil action by associations in the fight against corruption the NGOs Sherpa and Transparency interna-tional France are indeed at the origin of several legal proceedings in cases of ill-gotten gains NGOs play a key role in defending the general interest and thus participate in the demand for access to justice for victims of economic crimes still retains the highest French honorary decoration to refer the matter to the Grand Chancellor of the Order of the Legion of Honour with a view to having the Legion of Honour withdrawn from him Filing of a complaint with Transparency International France targeting the movable and immovable property held in France by Riffat al-Assad and some twenty people Sherpa and Transparency International France filed a second complaint against Rifaat al-Assad for concealment of stolen assets corruption and aggravated money-laundering by organised group Following the complaint filed by Sherpa and Transparency International France A complaint accompanied by criminal indemnification is filed by Sherpa against Rifaat Al Assad The Paris court sentenced Rifaat Al-Assad to 4 years in prison in particular for organised laundering of embezzlement of public funds in Syria The Court of Appeal confirmed the judgment sentencing Rifaat Al-Assad to 4 years in prison and the confiscation of his assets located in France The French highest court confirmed the condemnation of Rifaat al-Assad to four years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement and the confiscation of his assets located in France Your support is essential in our fight for a fairer world we can fight with complete independence and impartiality We owe our freedom of speech and action to you Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors The TimesA château in luxuriant French countryside is a testimony to the wealth of the Assad dynasty It belongs to the Syrian President’s uncle believed to own property worth €160 million (£134 million) around Paris alone There have been calls for the assets of Rifaat al-Assad to be frozen — to the embarrassment of the authorities His case is not helped by tension over the château where armed Syrians have confronted walkers the guards moved out of the lane and inside the château gates Yesterday half a dozen young men appeared and one threatened that if the Times photographer tried to take pictures of the property he would smash the camera The men belong to families who worked for Mr Assad in Syria and followed him when he fled to France in 1984 after trying to seize power The families live in dilapidated stables opposite his château and work as gardeners cleaners and guards in Mr Assad’s Paris properties Geese and emaciated cats roam a muddy farmyard the fences are broken and damp creeps up the walls “It is extremely insalubrious,” said Mr Poulet “How can a billionaire let people live like that?” A man in a grey suit rejected the mayor’s criticism He said the people lived “in a perfectly ordinary way” Supporters of Mr Assad say that he is an opponent of the Syrian Government and a friend of the West his detractors ask how he became wealthy enough to buy the château in Bessancourt along with a building in Paris estimated at €90 million and dozens of flats in the French capital They point out that he once commanded the 55,000-strong Syrian Defence Companies alleged to have killed up to 25,000 people to quell an uprising in Hama in 1982 Politicians on both sides of the political divide are calling on President Hollande to freeze Mr Assad’s assets “I wrote to Mr Hollande in July and haven’t received a response and I find that silence troubling,” he said “Does it mean that France is still protecting Rifaat al-Assad?”