Jamil Hassan
Jamil Hassan | |
|---|---|
جميل حسن | |
| Director of Air Force Intelligence Directorate | |
| In office 1 July 2009 – 7 July 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Abdul Fattah Qudsiyeh |
| Succeeded by | Ghassan Ismail |
| Deputy Director of General Intelligence Directorate | |
| In office 2004–2009 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1952 (age 73) |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ba'athist Syria |
| Branch/service | Syrian Air Force |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Syrian Air Force |
| Battles/wars | Islamist uprising in Syria Syrian civil war |
Jamil Hassan (Arabic: جميل حسن) is the former head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate and a former close adviser to President Bashar al-Assad.
Hassan oversaw a network of detention facilities including the Mezzeh Prison where inmates were tortured.[1]
Career
Hassan was appointed head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate (SAFI) in 2009.[2]
Sanctions
Hassan was sanctioned by the European Union on 9 May 2011 on the grounds that he was "involved in violence against the civilian population" during the Syrian civil war.[3] On 29 June 2011, the United States also sanctioned him due to his involvement in human rights abuses in Syria.[4]
Hassan gave an interview for The Independent in November 2016, disproving claims of his assassination. He stated that the tactics used in the 1982 Hama massacre would have ended the Syrian civil war much faster.[5]
Criminal investigations
Germany
In June 2018 German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that Germany's chief federal prosecutor had issued an international arrest warrant against Hassan for his alleged involvement in the torture and murder of hundreds of prisoners.[6]
France
In November 2018, French prosecutors issued international arrest warrants for three senior Syrian intelligence and government officials: Ali Mamlouk, Abdel Salam Mahmoud and Jamil Hassan. The warrants bring charges including collusion in torture, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and war crimes.[7] Four days of hearings at the Paris Cour d'assises started on 21 May 2024, accusing the three men of involvement in the disappearance, torture and killing of two French citizens between 2013 and 2017.[8] Hassan was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia on May 25.[9][10]
United States
On 9 December 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime, the U.S. Department of Justice charged the 72-year-old Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, a brigadier general in SAFI, with conspiring to torture American and Syrian civilians at Mezzeh Prison between 2012 and 2019.[11] The indictment was the first time the U.S. criminally charged top Syrian officials for human rights abuses during the Assad regime.[12][13]
Personal life
He owned a house in an affluent area of central Damascus.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b Cuddy, Alice; Solh, Ghaith (21 December 2024). "Syria: Inside the abandoned homes of Assad's enforcers". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024.
- ^ "First circle". France 24. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 36/2012 of 18 January 2012 concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011". EUR-Lex. Official Journal of the European Union. 19 January 2012. Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
- ^ "Treasury Sanctions Syrian, Iranian Security Forces for Involvement in Syrian Crackdown". United States Department of the Treasury. 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ^ Fisk, Robert (27 November 2016). "Tougher tactics would have ended Syrian war, claims the country's top intelligence general". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ Diehl, Jörg; Reuter, Christoph; Schmid, Fidelius (8 June 2018). "Germany Takes Aim at Assad's Torture Boss". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ^ Jarry, Emmanuel (5 November 2018). "France issues arrest warrants for senior Syrian officials". Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 November 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ Eleonore Dermy (21 May 2024). "France begins its first war crimes trial of Syrian officials". Al-Monitor. Wikidata Q126010156. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024.
- ^ Ayad, Christophe (25 May 2024). "Torture in Syria: Paris court sentences three senior officials from Assad's regime to life imprisonment". Le Monde. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "French court sentences 3 Syrian officials to life in prison in absentia for war crimes". Associated Press. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ Singh, Kanishka (9 December 2024). "Two former Syrian intelligence officials face US war crimes charges". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024.
- ^ Benner, Katie; Goldman, Adam (9 December 2024). "Syrian Military Officials Charged With War Crimes as Government Falls". New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Criminal Charges Unsealed Against Two Former High-Ranking Syrian Government Intelligence Officials for War Crimes against Americans and Other Civilians". United States Department of Justice. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 11 December 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.