US Charges 2 Former Syrian Officials With War Crimes

Both men face one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes through the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control.

People gather at Saadallah al-Jabiri Square to celebrate, after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's rule has ended, in Aleppo, Syria, on Dec. 8, 2024. Karam al-Masri/Reuters

Two high-ranking Syrian officials who served under ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Dec. 9 statement.

According to the indictment filed in the district court of Illinois on Nov. 18 and unsealed on Dec. 9, former Syrian Air Force intelligence officers Jamil Hassan, 72, and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, 65, have been charged with war crimes. Arrest warrants have been issued but the pair are considered at large, with their current locations unknown.