Two former high-ranking Syrian navy figures who performed key roles in President Bashar al-Assad’s now-deposed regime have been indicted on battle crimes prices within the United States and accused of torturing American residents.
Jamil Hassan, 72, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, 65, each former Syrian Air Force intelligence officers, had been charged in reference to what prosecutors alleged was “a conspiracy to commit battle crimes by way of the infliction of merciless and inhuman therapy on detainees underneath their management, together with U.S. residents.”
The Justice Department’s indictment accuses them of “merciless and strange therapy” of civilian prisoners on the Mezzeh Military Airport close to Damascus.
Syrians have been searching jails for loved ones within the aftermath of the overthrow of Assad, whereas 1000’s of prisoners have been free of the amenities infamous for his or her use of torture.
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of the 2 former intelligence officers, on prices of conspiracy to commit the battle crime of merciless and inhuman therapy and if discovered responsible they face life in jail.
Prosecutors mentioned they continue to be “at massive” however didn’t specify the place the 2 males at the moment are, or even when authorities know their whereabouts.
The Grand Jury indictment was filed within the United States District Court in Chicago in November however was unsealed Tuesday, following the victory of insurgent forces in Damascus and the downfall of Assad on Sunday.
The U.S. is the most recent nation to challenge a warrant towards Mahmoud and Hassan, following Germany in 2018. The U.S. has positioned sanctions on Assad and his internal circle — together with Hassan — since 2012.
“The perpetrators of the Assad regime’s atrocities towards American residents and different civilians in the course of the Syrian civil battle should reply for his or her heinous crimes,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland mentioned in an announcement.
The indictment lists intimately the torture allegedly meted out on the route of Hassan and Mahmoud. The two Syrians “whipped, kicked, electrocuted, and burned their victims; hung them by their wrists for extended intervals of time; threatened them with rape and dying; and falsely advised them that their relations had been killed,” Garland mentioned.
“Hassan and Mahmoud allegedly oversaw the systematic use of torture and cruelty on perceived enemies of the Syrian regime, together with American residents,” mentioned FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The indictment mentioned Hassan was the director of Syrian Air Force Intelligence and oversaw a community of jails together with the Mezzeh Prison in Damascus, the place suspected regime opponents had been saved and tortured; Mahmoud was a Brigadier General who directed operations at Mezzeh.
The pair are particularly accused of human rights abuses between 2012 and 2019, together with torturing and killing folks suspected of aiding or supporting teams against Assad in Syria’s lengthy and bloody civil battle.
“Detainees within the defendants’ custody, together with U.S. residents, had been mercilessly overwhelmed, electrocuted, and had their toenails eliminated. Detainees had been additionally allegedly hung from the ceiling by their wrists and had been burned with acid,” the indictment mentioned.
