The wife and daughter of one of Syria’s fallen presidents Bashar al-Assad The Beirut cousins were arrested Friday at Beirut airport, from where they were trying to fly out with allegedly falsified passports, Lebanese judicial and security authorities said. Assad’s uncle left the day before.
Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid Assad – the son of former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, uncle of Bashar Assad – and their daughter Shams were smuggled into Lebanon and were trying to travel to Egypt when they were arrested, according to five Lebanese officials close to the case. They were detained by the Lebanese General Security. Rifaat had flown the day before with his real passport and was not arrested, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
In March, Swiss federal prosecutors charged Rifaat with war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering the murder and torture more than four decades ago.
Rifaat Assad, the brother of Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar Assad, former leader of Syria, led the artillery unit that bombed the city of Hama and killed thousands, earning him the nickname from “Butcher of Hama”.
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Earlier this year, Rifaat Assad was indicted in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity in relation to Hama.
Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have entered Lebanon illegally on the night of Assad’s fall earlier this month, when insurgent forces entered Damascus.
Lebanese security and justice officials said more than 20 members of the former Syrian army’s notorious 4th Division, military intelligence officers and others affiliated with Assad’s security forces had been arrested earlier in Lebanon. Some of them were arrested while trying to sell their weapons.
Lebanese prosecutors also received a notice from Interpol requesting the arrest of Jamil al-Hassan, the former director of Syrian intelligence under Assad. Lebanon’s interim prime minister, Najib Mikati, has previously said Reuters that Lebanon would cooperate with Interpol’s request to arrest al-Hassan.
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