US charges two Syrian intelligence officials with war crimes

By THE MEDIA LINE STAFF

DECEMBER 10, 2024 19:23

A tank that belonged to the Syrian Army is parked on a street in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir) — A tank that belonged to the Syrian Army is parked on a street in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

This marks the first time the US has criminally prosecuted high-ranking Syrian officials for human rights abuses during Syria’s 13-year civil war.

The US Justice Department has charged two senior Syrian military officials, Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, with war crimes, including torture and inhumane treatment of detainees, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday. This marks the first time the US has criminally prosecuted high-ranking Syrian officials for human rights abuses during Syria’s 13-year civil war.

Hassan, the former head of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate, and Mahmoud, a brigadier general in the same unit, allegedly directed brutal detention practices targeting opposition figures, including US citizens, at Mezzeh prison in Damascus. The indictment describes acts of electrocution, acid burns, and beatings inflicted on prisoners between 2012 and 2019.

FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized accountability in the case, stating, “Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of cruel and inhumane treatment on perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, including American citizens.”

The indictment, filed in Chicago, was unsealed shortly after rebels ousted president Bashar Assad, ending decades of oppressive rule and freeing prisoners across the country.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation seal is seen at FBI headquarters before a news conference by FBI Director Christopher Wray on the U.S Justice Department's inspector general's report regarding the actions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 2016 US presidential election in Washington, (credit: REUTERS/YURI GRIPAS)

Abduction of Austin Tice

Since 2018, Chicago prosecutors have been investigating the officials’ involvement in the death of American aid worker Layla Shweikani and the 2012 abduction of American journalist Austin Tice. The Syrian government has never acknowledged holding Tice, and the indictment does not specifically mention him. Sources inside Syria told The Media Line on Monday that Tice is still alive, being held by a member of the former regime, but is in urgent need of food and water.