Two former senior Syrian military leaders who were instrumental in the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad have been charged with war crimes in the US and are said to have tortured US nationals.
Prosecutors accused former Syrian Air Force intelligence officers Jamil Hassan, 72, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, 65, of “a conspiracy to commit war crimes through the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control, including U.S. citizens.”
They are charged with “cruel and unusual treatment” of civilian inmates at the Mezzeh Military Airport, which is close to Damascus, according to the Justice Department’s indictment.
Following the toppling of Assad, Syrians have been searching jails for loved ones, and thousands of inmates have been released from institutions known for torturing inmates.
The two former intelligence operatives are wanted on suspicion of conspiring to conduct the war crime of cruel and inhuman treatment, and if convicted, they might spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
The two guys are still “at large,” according to the prosecution, but they did not say where they are or whether the police are aware of their whereabouts.
Following the collapse of Assad on Sunday and the triumph of rebel forces in Damascus, the grand jury indictment was unsealed Tuesday after being filed in the US District Court in Chicago in November.
After Germany in 2018, the United States is the most recent nation to issue a warrant against Mahmoud and Hassan. Since 2012, the United States has imposed sanctions on Hassan and other members of Assad’s inner circle.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued a statement saying, “The perpetrators of the Assad regime’s atrocities against American citizens and other civilians during the Syrian civil war must answer for their heinous crimes.”
The torture allegedly carried out under Hassan and Mahmoud’s supervision is detailed in the indictment. Both Syrians “whipped, kicked, electrocuted, and burned their victims; hung them by their wrists for prolonged periods of time; threatened them with rape and death; and falsely told them that their family members had been killed,” Garland stated.
“Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of torture and cruelty on perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, including American citizens,” stated Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI.
According to the indictment, Mahmoud was a Brigadier General who managed operations at Mezzeh Prison, which was part of the network of jails run by Hassan, the director of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, and where suspected regime opponents were detained and tortured.
The two are explicitly charged with violating human rights from 2012 to 2019, which includes killing and torturing individuals who are thought to have assisted or supported anti-Assad organizations throughout Syria’s protracted and brutal civil conflict.
“Defendants brutally beat, electrocuted, and removed the toenails of detainees in their custody, including U.S. citizens. According to the accusation, detainees were also allegedly burnt with acid and hung by their wrists from the ceiling.
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