US indicts two former Syrian officials, accuses them of torturing prisoners

Two former high-ranking Syrian soldiers who played key roles in the now-deposed regime of President Bashar al-Assad have been indicted on war crimes charges in the United States and accused of torturing American citizens.

Jamil Hassan, 72, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, 65, both former intelligence officers in the Syrian Air Force, were charged with what prosecutors called “conspiracy to commit crimes of war by inflicting cruel and inhumane treatment on detainees under their control. including American citizens. »

The Justice Department's indictment accuses them of “cruel and unusual treatment” of civilian prisoners at the Mezzeh military airport near Damascus.

Syrians searched prisons for their loved ones after Assad's overthrow, while thousands of prisoners were freed from facilities known for their use of torture.

An arrest warrant has been issued for the two former intelligence officers, accused of conspiracy to commit the war crime of cruel and inhumane treatment. If convicted, they face life in prison.

Prosecutors said they remained “at large” and did not say whether authorities knew their whereabouts.

The grand jury indictment was filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago in November, but was not made public until Tuesday, after rebel forces won in Damascus and Assad was toppled on Sunday.

Syrians are gathering in Damascus' Umayyad Square on Monday to celebrate the collapse of 61 years of rule by the Ba'ath Party. Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images

The United States is the latest country to issue arrest warrants for Mahmoud and Hassan, following Germany in 2018. The United States has maintained sanctions against Assad and his entourage, including Hassan, since 2012.

“The perpetrators of atrocities committed by the Assad regime against American citizens and other civilians during the Syrian civil war must answer for their heinous crimes,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

The indictment lists in detail the torture it alleges was inflicted at the direction of Hassan and Mahmoud. The two Syrians “whipped, kicked, electrocuted and burned their victims; hung them up by their wrists for prolonged periods; threatened them with rape and death; and falsely told them that their family members had been killed,” Garland said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said: “Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of torture and cruelty against perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, including American citizens. »

The indictment says Hassan was the director of intelligence for the Syrian Air Force and oversaw a network of prisons, including Mezzeh Prison in Damascus, where suspected opponents of the regime were detained and tortured. Mahmoud was a brigadier general who led operations in Mezzeh, it says.

The two men are specifically accused of human rights violations between 2012 and 2019, including torturing and killing people suspected of aiding or supporting groups opposed to Assad in Syria's long and bloody civil war.

“Detainees in the defendants' custody, including U.S. citizens, were mercilessly beaten, electrocuted, and had their toenails removed. Detainees were also allegedly hung from the ceiling by their wrists and burned with acid,” the indictment states.

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