Pedro Agramun: Council of Europe lawmakers move against chief after Assad visit

Agramunt had come under fire for a visit to war-torn Syria in March during which he met al-Assad.

The Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly moved Tuesday to sack its president, Pedro Agramunt, because of a visit to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March.

The move came after the parliamentary assembly of the human rights-focused organisation voted to amend its procedures to allow it to dismiss its president or vice president.

There was previously no procedure for sacking or withdrawing confidence from the assembly’s president.

Agramunt had come under fire for a visit to war-torn Syria in March during which he met al-Assad.

His visit came weeks after a UN commission of inquiry into the conflict concluded that al-Assad’s regime had committed multiple war crimes during last year’s battle for Aleppo.

This include the deployment of poisonous chlorine gas and airstrikes on civilian targets. 

Agramunt had come under fire for a visit to war-torn Syria in March during which he met al-Assad. Read Full Story