US Charges 2 Syrian Intelligence Officials With War Crimes
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.