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Jamil Hassan: The Air Force Intelligence Chief Germany Wants to Arrest
He ran the most feared intelligence branch in Syria. His detention centers filled with tortured bodies. A German arrest warrant for crimes against humanity has his name on it.
Confirmed1 chapters1953— 2024
Air Force Intelligence has historically been Syria's most feared security service — operating outside even the thin accountability structures of other agencies. Hassan's command during the civil war coincided with a massive expansion of detentions, torture, and killings in its facilities. The Caesar photos — 55,000 images of dead detainees smuggled out of Syria — include large numbers from Air Force Intelligence facilities.
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Chapter 01government role01 / 01
2009—2024Damascus, Syria
Running Syria's Most Feared Intelligence Branch
2009–present — Damascus, Syria
Jamil Hassan became head of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate (Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya) in 2009 under Bashar al-Assad. Air Force Intelligence is one of Syria's four main intelligence agencies but operates with special authority — its jurisdiction formally covers military aviation and related personnel but in practice extends to anyone the agency targets. According to EU sanction records and UN Commission of Inquiry reports, under Hassan's command the agency systematically detained, tortured, and killed thousands of people after the 2011 uprising began. Air Force Intelligence facilities — including Branch 235 (Palestine Branch) and the Al-Mezzeh facility at Damascus military airport — became some of the most feared sites in the country. Hassan is specifically accused by German prosecutors of ordering or condoning the systematic torture and killing of thousands of detainees.
Confirmed(94%)Sensitivity: critical
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