US and Lebanon provide protection and funding to former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity
A BBC investigation reveals that the US and Lebanon are providing funding and protection to former Syrian general Bassam al-Hassan, who is wanted for crimes against humanity, in exchange for information about the kidnapping of journalist Austin Tice.
A BBC investigation, published on Thursday, reveals that the United States and Lebanon are providing funding and protection to former Syrian general Bassam al-Hassan, who is wanted for crimes against humanity. Al-Hassan, who oversaw Syria's chemical weapons program and served as a senior advisor to former President Bashar al-Assad, has been hiding in Lebanon since the collapse of the Assad regime in 2024. According to the investigation, he was allowed to remain in Lebanon as part of an arrangement involving the FBI and other US and Lebanese authorities. This deal was made in exchange for information al-Hassan provided about the planned kidnapping of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, a kidnapping he oversaw. The current Syrian government wants al-Hassan extradited, but US authorities prefer to keep him in Lebanon. Al-Hassan receives funds from the US through a middleman, despite being under US sanctions. However, sources familiar with the investigation question the credibility of the information al-Hassan provided, as searches for Tice's body at the location he indicated yielded nothing. The investigation highlights a complex moral and legal dilemma, where intelligence interests outweigh the need to prosecute a suspected war criminal.