- Published
A former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity, external is being bankrolled and protected by the US and Lebanese authorities, a BBC News investigation has found.
asserted
investigation → publish → authorities
Bassam al-Hassan, who oversaw Syria's chemical weapons programme and was a senior adviser to former President Bashar al-Assad, is being harboured in Lebanon following the Assad regime's collapse in 2024.
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who → oversee → 2024
An investigation by the BBC and the US broadcaster NPR has discovered that Hassan has been allowed to remain there under an arrangement involving the FBI, and other US and Lebanese authorities.
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Hassan → discover → FBI
This is because of his willingness to provide information about the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, as well as additional intelligence, we have been told.
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we → provide → 2012
Last month the BBC revealed Tice's abduction had been a planned operation, with Hassan in the chain of command.
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Hassan → reveal → command
Officials from two different branches of Syria's new government have told the BBC they want Hassan returned to face trial, but that US authorities want him kept in Beirut, and they say there is little Damascus can do about this.
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Damascus → tell → this
We asked the FBI, the CIA and Lebanon's General Directorate of General Security to comment on our findings.
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We → ask → findings
Only the FBI responded, declining to comment and instead directing us to a past statement that said its focus remained on establishing the facts around the Tice case and securing his return.
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focus → respond → return
In response to our findings, Phil Elwood, spokesperson for the Tice family said: "If what you are saying is true, the fact that our tax dollars are being used to furnish a comfortable life for someone associated with the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, who claims to have had Austin Tice executed, is offensive.
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Tice → say → civilians
"This is nothing less than aiding and abetting the escape of a wanted war criminal.
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This → aid → criminal
The Syrians deserve justice and he should be returned to stand trial."
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he → deserve → trial
As part of a years-long investigation featured in the new BBC podcast: Where is Austin Tice? Series 3 of I'm Not A Monster Presents, the BBC has reviewed a detailed record of a meeting between Hassan, FBI and CIA representatives, and Lebanese security officials, where Tice's case is discussed.
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case → feature → Hassan
In it, Hassan is offered "residency", "protection" and help securing his "living needs" in return for information, primarily about Tice.
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Hassan → offer → Tice
Sources with knowledge of the arrangement confirmed this was the case, and described to us how Hassan receives money from the US authorities through an intermediary, making it harder to trace.
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it → confirm → intermediary
Hassan is sanctioned by the US government.
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Hassan → sanction → government
Yet people connected to the Tice investigation say they have seen little evidence it has significantly advanced since Hassan began providing information as part of this agreement.
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Hassan → connect → agreement
The deal is believed to have been struck in the spring of 2025.
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deal → believe → 2025
Sources with knowledge of the investigation have expressed concerns that Hassan's arrangement with the US could continue indefinitely, at significant expense but with little gain.
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arrangement → express → gain
Hassan is not the only Syrian regime official whose connection to the Tice case has seemingly afforded him financial payments or assistance for living abroad.
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connection → afford → payments
One former regime member said he had received money from the FBI multiple times in exchange for his co-operation on Tice's case.
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he → say → case
It was "not in his interest to share all the information all at once," he told the BBC, "in order to be able to drag out how long he can continue to receive payments from them [the US authorities]"
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he → share → them
Another former regime member connected to the Tice case claimed he was living in Lebanon under the "patronage" of the US authorities, citing this as the reason he could not speak to us about Tice.
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he → connect → Tice
The BBC spoke to a former senior Lebanese intelligence official who confirmed that Lebanese intelligence does have arrangements with the Americans, and that these types of payments have and do take place when both agencies have overlap in cases, but said he had no knowledge of payments involving the Tice case.
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he → speak → case
Following the fall of the Assad regime in early December 2024, Hassan is believed to have initially escaped to Iran.
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Hassan → follow → Iran
A Syrian businessman, with strong connections to both the former regime and the Lebanese authorities, told the BBC that negotiations had then taken place - involving the US, Lebanon, and Iran - to bring Hassan to Lebanon.
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negotiations → tell → Lebanon
The businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, said Hassan was valuable, not only because of what he is believed to know about Tice, but because of his knowledge of Syria's chemical weapons programme and its military relationship with Iran - secrets that US intelligence was allegedly interested in.
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intelligence → ask → that
Hassan told US investigators last year that Tice had been executed on former President Assad's orders, but several people with knowledge of the investigation have questioned the details of his account.
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people → tell → account
Hassan has provided a potential location for Tice's remains, but when the site was searched, nothing was found - according to multiple sources familiar with the dig - casting doubt on the validity of some of Hassan's information.
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nothing → provide → information
There are questions, however, over how thoroughly the site was searched.
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site → be → ?
Two sources who said they had intimate knowledge of the operation told the BBC that US authorities stopped digging before the search had been completed, possibly because of security concerns.
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search → say → concerns
When the BBC managed to reach Hassan by phone last year to ask for an interview, he directed us to seek permission for him to speak from the FBI and CIA at the US embassy in Beirut.
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him → manage → Beirut
Our investigation has found that other Syrian officials connected to the Tice case have also apparently found refuge abroad.
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officials → find → refuge
They include Mohammad Makhlouf, who reported to Hassan in Syria and was connected to Tice's detention - now believed to be residing in Lebanon.
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who → include → Lebanon
And Sakr Rustom, Hassan's nephew who was involved in Tice's abduction, now believed to be moving between the UAE and Lebanon.
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who → involve → UAE
When the BBC attempted to speak to Rustom about Tice's case, he said he "preferred to focus on matters of the future".
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he → attempt → future
Ghassan Nassour, a former general in Syria's Republican Guard, is said by former members of the National Defence Forces to have presided over the jail Tice was held in, and is believed to be living in the UAE with his family, we have been told.
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we → say → family
The Aporia
