U.S. prosecutors have leveled serious accusations against two high-ranking Syrian officials, alleging their involvement in managing a notorious facility notorious for torturing peaceful demonstrators and political prisoners. Among those believed to have suffered there is a 26-year-old American woman, feared to have been executed following her detention.
The indictment was made public on Monday, shortly after a surprising rebel offensive culminated in the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Various entities, including the U.S. and the U.N., have accused Assad of extensive human rights violations during a brutal 13-year conflict aimed at suppressing opposition forces attempting to unseat him.
The war, which originated in 2011 as a largely peaceful protest movement, has tragically resulted in the loss of approximately half a million lives.
The legal document, filed on November 18 in a federal court in Chicago, is reportedly the first initiative by the U.S. government against what officials claim are networks tied to Assad’s intelligence services and military factions that detained, tortured, and executed thousands viewed as adversaries.
The indictment identifies Jamil Hassan, who leads the intelligence branch of the Syrian air force, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, who is accused of operating the prison. According to prosecutors, Hassan was responsible for overseeing a facility within the Mezzeh air force base in Damascus, known for its brutality.
Both men face charges of conspiring to commit inhumane treatment of civilian detainees amid the ongoing Syrian civil war. Allegations detail horrific methods of torture inflicted on detainees, which included whipping, electrocution, and burning. Victims were reportedly subjected to mental and physical abuse, often being confined in cells alongside the corpses of deceased detainees.
The victims outlined in the indictment consist of Syrians, Americans, and individuals holding dual citizenship. The Syrian Emergency Task Force, based in the United States, has long advocated for federal prosecutors to investigate these matters, including the case of Layla Shweikani, the American aid worker detained in 2016.
Witnesses provided testimony regarding Shweikani’s ordeal in the prison, and human rights organizations in Syria believe she was later executed at the Saydnaya military facility located in the Damascus suburbs.
In a statement released on Monday, the Syrian Emergency Task Force declared, “Now is the time to apprehend these criminals and bring them back to the United States to face justice.” The group’s leader, Mouaz Moustafa, revealed that several of his relatives were among those tortured at the facility.
Federal prosecutors have announced the issuance of arrest warrants for both officials, who currently remain at large. However, the possibility of extraditing them for trial remains uncertain in light of the recent upheaval that has dispersed Assad’s government and left citizens searching extensively through prison facilities across the country for survivors and evidence of the atrocities.