|
Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid Assad — the son of former
Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of Bashar Assad —
and their daughter, Shams, were smuggled illegally into Lebanon
and were trying to fly to Egypt when they were arrested,
according to five Lebanese officials familiar with the case.
They were being detained by Lebanese General Security. Rifaat
had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not
stopped, the officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Swiss federal prosecutors in March indicted Rifaat on charges of
war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering
murder and torture more than four decades ago.
Rifaat Assad, the brother of Bashar Assad's father Hafez Assad,
Syria's former ruler, led the artillery unit that shelled the
city of Hama and killed thousands, earning him the nickname the
“Butcher of Hama.”
Earlier this year, Rifaat Assad was indicted in Switzerland for
war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Hama.
Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have entered
Lebanon illegally on the night of Assad’s fall earlier this
month, when insurgent forces entered Damascus.
The Lebanese security and judicial officials said that more than
20 members of the former Syrian Army’s notorious 4th Division,
military intelligence officers and others affiliated with
Assad’s security forces were arrested earlier in Lebanon. Some
of them were arrested when they attempted to sell their weapons.
Lebanon’s public prosecution office also received an Interpol
notice requesting the arrest of Jamil al-Hassan, the former
director of Syrian intelligence under Assad. Lebanon's caretaker
Prime Minister Najib Mikati previously told Reuters that Lebanon
would cooperate with the Interpol request to arrest al-Hassan.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
