French Court Upholds Assad Uncle’s Conviction over Ill-Gotten Assets

Rifaat al-Assad during an interview with AP in his office in Marbella, southern Spain, May 27 2005. (AP)

France's top administrative court on Wednesday confirmed the conviction of Rifaat al-Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an "ill-gotten gains" case over wealth estimated at 90 million euros ($89 million).

Rifaat al-Assad, 85, is the younger brother of Bashar's father and former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad, and himself held the office of vice president but fled the country in 1984 after a failed coup.