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Air Force Intelligence: Jamil Hassan and the Torture Machine
Syria's most feared intelligence agency — its director Jamil Hassan is wanted by Germany, France, and the United States for crimes against humanity. Hundreds of thousands were imprisoned and tortured at Mezzeh.
Confirmed3 chapters1969— 2024-12
The Air Force Intelligence Directorate's documented methods — electrocution, acid burns, suspension from the ceiling, removal of toenails — placed it at the center of the UN's findings of systematic torture amounting to crimes against humanity.
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1969—2009Mezzeh Military Airport, Damascus
Structure and Headquarters at Mezzeh
Mezzeh Military Airport, Southwest Damascus
The Air Force Intelligence Directorate (Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawwiyya) was one of Syria's four main intelligence agencies — alongside Military Intelligence, General Intelligence, and Political Security. Its primary headquarters were at Mezzeh Military Airport, southwest of Damascus. Despite its name, it was not limited to aviation security; it exercised broad authority across Syrian society including monitoring political dissidents, journalists, and civil society activists. The OHCHR documented that the agency imprisoned and tortured 'hundreds of thousands' of Syrians during the civil war years. Its detention facilities operated nationwide — at Mezzeh, Harasta, Aleppo, Daraa, Homs, and Latakia. It should not be confused with the Palestine Branch (Branch 235), which is a Military Intelligence facility also in Damascus.
Confirmed(90%)Sensitivity: critical
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2009—2019-07Mezzeh Military Airport, Damascus
Jamil Hassan's Command: Systematic Torture (2009–2019)
2009 – July 2019
Major General Jamil Hassan became head of Air Force Intelligence in 2009 and led it through the entire civil war until July 2019. Under his command, the directorate became a central instrument of the regime's mass detention campaign. The OHCHR's 2012 report 'Torture and Ill-Treatment: The Human Cost of the Syrian Conflict' documented methods including: prolonged whipping, electrical shocks to genitals, burning with cigarettes and acid, removal of toenails, prolonged suspension from the ceiling by wrists ('shabeh'), threats of rape against detainees and their families, and isolation in overcrowded cells. German authorities issued an arrest warrant for Hassan in June 2018 through the Federal Court of Justice, the first international warrant for a sitting Syrian intelligence chief. French prosecutors issued international arrest warrants in November 2018 on charges of torture, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In December 2024, the US Justice Department unsealed indictments against Hassan and his deputy Abdul Salam Mahmoud for war crimes against US citizens detained at Mezzeh.
Confirmed(95%)Sensitivity: critical
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2024-12—2026Fled Syria; believed to be in Russia or Lebanon
Flight After Assad's Fall; International Warrants
December 2024 – 2026
When the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024, Jamil Hassan fled Syria. As of early 2026, he is believed to be in Russia or Lebanon. Both Syria and France have called on Lebanon to arrest Hassan, and French investigating magistrates have maintained their international arrest warrant. The US indictment remains active. The Air Force Intelligence Directorate's operational infrastructure — its detention sites, interrogation rooms, and records — was seized by opposition forces after the regime's fall. Survivors and human rights organizations began the process of identifying victims and documenting the full scale of crimes committed under Hassan's command.
Confirmed(88%)Sensitivity: critical
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