THE BLACKLIST Violations committed by the most prominent Syrian regime figures and how to bring them to justice The Blacklist violations committed by the most prominent Syrian Regime figures and how to bring them to justice The Blacklist, violations committed by the most prominent Syrian Re- gime figures and how to bring them to justice First published in the US 2019 by Pro-Justice 8725 Ginger Snap Lane, San Diego, CA 92129 Email. [email protected] Tel. +18588886410 ISBN: 978-605-7896-11-7 Copyright © Pro-justice All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing of Pro-justice Pro-justice is a non-profit that seeks to maintain the principle of accountabil- ity and preclude impunity for major war criminal and human rights violators in societies that suffer from or have just exited civil wars and natural disasters, with special focus on the Middles East and Syria. Visit www.pro-justice.org to read more about pro-justice activities and pub- lications The Blacklist violations committed by the most prominent Syrian Regime figures and how to bring them to justice Foreword More than eight years have passed since Syrians took to the streets as part of a peaceful movement demanding freedom and human dignity. Since then, the Syrian government has continued to resist the laws of inevitable transformation, trying in vain to stop the process of political development and reform through its levers of killing and repression. This document serves as a record of the sacrifices Syrians have hon- ourably made to attain their freedom. In addition, it serves to document the violations that have been carried out against them, and as a means of holding the perpetrators to account for their crimes. The first chapter of this report demonstrates the requirement to follow legal processes promoting social and political movement, as well as the op- portunities offered by tools of international accountability to confront the Syrian regime, in order to end five decades of extensive violations against the Syrian people carried out on its behalf. The second chapter summarises the most prominent violations by the Syrian regime against civilians, including murder and mass murder; the use of chemical weapons and internationally prohibited weapons; viola- tions of the rights of women and children; the targeting of journalists; the policies of systematic torture, starvation and siege, enforced displacement and sectarian discrimination; targeting civilian areas with barrel bombs and air strikes; and other horrific crimes that violate International Human- itarian Law, Law of Armed Conflict and other international human rights treaties and conventions. The third and final chapter is a continuation of the efforts already ex- erted to document these crimes by presenting a list of the most prominent leaders of the security and military apparatuses, their violations against Syrians, the consequences of which led to their inclusion in international sanctions lists. This chapter provides details that can assist in identifying the perpetrators and their crimes. The ultimate objective of this work is to emphasise that the crimes 5 committed by Syrian officials should not be subject to a statute of lim- itations, and that international bargaining and the interests of the various stakeholders cannot change the principles of the 2011 national movement, namely freedom, dignity and accountability of all those involved in the violation of Syrian rights. Pro-Justice members and volunteers have worked painstakingly to col- lect the material of this book, which is intended to complement the endeav- ours of other projects that worked to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes. Perpetrators include the leaders of extremist and terrorist groups, the heads of sectarian militias known to have committed many crimes, and foreign governments that stood by the Syrian regime and contributed, through military support, to the violation of international and humanitarian conventions and charters. By placing this effort in the hands of the Syrians and of the internation- al community as a whole, we aim to achieve cooperation and integration with other sincere efforts to achieve the legitimate demands of the Syrian people, and to bring all perpetrators of crimes to justice, so ensuring that the culprits do not escape with impunity. Riad Hijab 6 Table of Contents Foreword 5 Map 12 Chapter 1: Efforts to hold the Syrian regime accountable, 13 and mechanisms of accountability - Efforts to document the regime’s violations and to hold 15 its officials accountable - Mechanisms available for accountability 23 - Proceeding with the accountability process 33 Chapter 2: Major violations committed by the Assad regime 37 and its allies (2011–2018) - Premeditated murder and mass killing 40 - Use of Chemical Weapons against civilians 50 - Crimes and violations against Syrian women 57 - Crimes and violations against Syrian children 66 - Sectarian discrimination and sectarian militias 72 - Siege as a weapon against civilians 82 - Targeting of journalists 87 - The systematic use of torture 89 - Use of Biological Weapons against civilians 96 - Bombardement of residential areas with barrel bombs 98 - Arbitrary arrest and detention, and forced disappear- 103 ance 7 - Enforced displacement 110 Chapter 3: The Blacklist 119 1. Field Marshal Bashar al-Assad. 121 2. Major General Mahir al-Assad. 127 3. Major General Zuhayr al-Assad. 131 4. General Fahd Jassim al-Frayj. 134 5. General Ali Abdullah Ayub. 138 6. Major General Muhammad Rahmun. 143 7. Major General Muhammad al-Sha’ar. 146 8. Major General Wasil Khalid al-Samir al-Awayd 150 9. Major General Salim Harba. 153 10. Major General Ali Mamluk. 157 11. Major General Jamil al-Hassan. 162 12. Major General Muhammad Dib Zaytun. 170 13. Major General Husam Luka 173 14. Major General Nasser al-Ali 175 15. Major General Abd al-Fatah Sulayman Qudsiyyah 178 16. Major General Nasser Dib. 181 17. Major General Talal Shafiq Makhluf. 183 18. Major General Jamal Muhammad Yunis. 191 19. Major General Rafiq Mahmud Shahadah 195 20. Major General Wajih Yahya Mahmud. 201 21. Major General Zaid Salih. 205 22. Major General Ghassan Isma’il. 207 8 23. Major General Ramadan Muhammad al-Ramadan. 210 24. Major General Muwaffaq Muhammad Asa‘ad. 213 25. Major General Adib Nimr Salamah. 216 26. Major General Aws Ali Aslan. 220 27. Major General Shawki Yusuf. 223 28. Major General Jawdat Salibi Mawas. 227 29. Major General Muhammad Ibrahim Khaddur. 231 30. Major General Kifah Milhim 237 31. Major General Nazih Hassun. 240 32. Major General Tawfik Yunis. 242 33. General Muhammad Mahmud Mahla. 245 34. General Bassam Haydar. 249 35. Major General Ali Wannus. 257 36. Major General Riad Habib Abbas. 259 37. Major General Ahmad Muhammad Ballul. 263 38. General Bassam Mirhaj al-Hassan. 266 39. Major General Ghassan Khalil. 270 40. Major General Juma’a Muhammad al-Jassim. 273 41. Major General Hassan Mirhaj Mirhaj. 277 42. Major General Ali Ahmad Asa’ad. 281 43. Major General Muhammad Kanju Hassan. 284 44. Major General Malik Hassan. 287 45. Major General Fu’ad Ahmad Hamudah. 289 46. General Adnan Jamil Isma’il. 293 47. Major General Hikmat Musa Salman. 297 9 48. General Hassan Muhammad Muhammad. 301 49. Major General Akram Muhammad. 304 50. Major General Ali Muhammad Ghanim. 307 51. Major General Muhammad Ali Subuh. 310 52. Major General Badi’i Sulayman Mu’alla. 313 53. Major General Saji’ Darwish. 316 54. Major General Hassan Ali. 324 55. Major General Imad Naffuri. 327 56. Brigadier General Jawdat Ibrahim Safi. 329 57. Brigadier General Jawdat al-Ahmad. 331 58. Brigadier General Hafiz Muhammad Makhluf. 335 59. Brigadier Qusay Ibrahim Mihub. 338 60. Brigadier Sayil Asa’ad Da’ud. 342 61. Brigadier Lu’ay al-Ali. 345 62. Brigadier General Mazin al-Kanj. 349 63. Brigadier Malik Alya. 352 64. Brigadier General Muhammad Zamrini. 356 65. Brigadier General Wafiq Nasr. 359 66. Brigadier General Mufid Wardah. 363 67. Brigadier Suhayl al-Hassan. 367 68. Brigadier Yassin Ahmad Dahi. 372 69. Brigadier Abd al-Salam Fajr Mahmud. 376 70. Brigadier General Ghassan Bilal. 381 71. Brigadier Dr. Ghassan Haddad. 383 72. Brigadier General Salih al-Abdallah. 388 10 73. Brigadier Fayiz Baddur. 391 74. Brigadier General Muhammad Khaluf. 393 75. Brigadier General Shafiq Massa. 397 76. Brigadier General Naufal al-Husayn. 400 77. Colonel Salih Saqr. 403 78. Brigadier General Aktham Mahmud. 405 79. Brigadier Ibrahim al-Wa’iri. 408 80. Brigadier Iyad Iskandar Mandu. 410 81. Brigadier General Sulayman al-Tinawi. 413 82. Brigadier Adnan al-Ahmad. 416 83. Brigadier Muhammad Yusuf al-Hasuri. 419 84. Brigadier Malik Ali Habib. 422 85. Colonel Nizar Fandi. 425 86. Colonel Ghayath Dalla. 430 87. Colonel Saqr Rustum. 435 88. Lieutenant Colonel Duraid Isma’il Awad. 438 89. Lieutenant Colonel Firas Ghassan Jazaa. 442 90. Engineer Muhammad Ahmad al-Sa’id. 444 91. Fadi al-Mallah. 450 92. Ali al-Shali. 452 93. Musib Nimr Salamah. 455 11 MAP OF SYRIA Source: Perry Castenada on-line map library(1) (1) https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/syria_rel-2007.jpg 12 Chapter 1 Efforts to hold the Syrian regime accountable, and mechanisms of accountability 13 Chapter 1 Efforts to hold the Syrian regime accountable, and mechanisms of accountability - Efforts to document the regime’s violations and to hold its officials accountable National initiatives Over the last eight years, the situation in Syria has been the focus of much work in the fields of human rights, accountability, and transition- al justice. Many Syrian-led rights groups have joined forces to achieve certain humanitarian goals. One such coalition is the Transitional Justice Coordinating Group (TJCG), which brought together 18 Syrian non-gov- ernmental organisations working in the field of transitional justice, civic reconciliation and Human Rights.