The US accused 2 senior officials of the Syrian army of committing war crimes

According to RCO News Agency, according to the indictment published on Monday, the US Department of Justice has accused two Syrian military officials of war crimes against Americans and other people in a dangerous prison in Damascus during the Syrian civil war.

The New York Times reported by publishing this article: This indictment is the first example of the US accusing the Syrian authorities of a long list of human rights violations in order to silence the voices of the opposition and incite fear throughout the country. The location of these officials, including Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, is not known, but the indictment clearly states that the United States intends to hold accountable the highest-ranking officials of the deposed Syrian government.

According to the indictment, which was filed confidentially in a court in Chicago last month, Jamil Hassan, who was the head of the Air Force Intelligence Department, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, the Brigadier General of the Air Force Intelligence Unit, “sought to intimidate, threaten and suppress any opposition to the regime or those who It was assumed that they were against it.

This document was made public one day after the fall of the Syrian government and the transfer of power to the armed Syrian rebels. These two Syrian officials should go to the Chicago Federal Court for trial, but these charges provide the necessary legal grounds for arresting these people if they are found by the American police.

The New York Times further wrote: Hassan supervised the repression of Syrian citizens in the government of “Bashar Assad”. Mahmoud, who was the Brigadier General of the Air Force Intelligence Unit, was the head of the prison in the military base located in al-Mezeh, Damascus, and the operations of this base.

According to this indictment, Hassan and Mahmoud, along with their unnamed accomplices, “committed a war crime by knowingly and intentionally engaging in cruel and inhuman behavior.” These people “physically abused and tortured the victims, including American citizens and other prisoners located in Al-Mezeh prison, by detaining or controlling them”, which according to the researchers, both of them had offices in this place.

The indictment mentions that the mentioned tortures by the Syrian army were carried out from 2012 to 2019. These tortures include electric shocks and pulling the toenails of prisoners, burning with acid and repeated beatings.

This American media wrote: Hassan and Mahmoud had helped Bashar al-Assad to silence the voices of the opposition by using torture and fear to preserve his government for more than a decade. His rule ended a few days ago when rebels took control of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and Damascus. The rebels released the prisoners of this country.

The United States had sanctioned Bashar al-Assad and his close circle, including Hassan, for committing violence against civilians. In mid-November, three days before a grand jury handed down the indictment against the two men, the US State Department said Mahmoud’s trips were being “deported for engaging in flagrant human rights violations, including torture or treatment and “Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment” has been limited.

It is further stated in this article: The Chicago prosecutor’s office has been investigating Hasan and Mahmoud since 2018, after the US Department of Justice filed charges of arresting and killing American aid worker Leila Shuikani. FBI agents traveled to Europe and West Asia to interview witnesses, including the man who buried Shyukani.

The indictment does not mention the name of Shuikani, who was detained for nearly a year in three detention facilities that were known for using torture against prisoners, including Al-Mezeh Airport, Adra Civilian Prison, and Saydnaya Military Prison.

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