US and Lebanon protecting wanted Syrian general, BBC finds

Image caption, Bassam al-Hassan is wanted for crimes against humanity during Syria's Assad regimeBySara Obeidat and Josh BakerPublished58 minutes agoA former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity, external is being bankrolled and protected by the US and Lebanese authorities, a BBC News investigation has found.Bassam al-Hassan, who oversaw Syria's chemical weapons programme and was a senior adviser to former President Bashar al-Assad, is being harboured in Lebanon following the Assad regime's collapse in 2024.An investigation by the BBC and the US broadcaster NPR has discovered that Hassan has been allowed to remain there under an arrangement involving the FBI, and other US and Lebanese authorities. This is because of his willingness to provide information about the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, as well as additional intelligence, we have been told.Last month the BBC revealed Tice's abduction had been a planned operation, with Hassan in the chain of command.Officials from two different branches of Syria's new government have told the BBC they want Hassan returned to face trial, but that US authorities want him kept in Lebanon, and they say there is little Damascus can do about this.We asked the FBI, the CIA and Lebanon's General Directorate of General Security to comment on our findings. Only the FBI responded, declining to comment and instead directing us to a past statement that said its focus remained on establishing the facts around the Tice case and securing his return.In response to our findings, Phil Elwood, spokesperson for the Tice family said: "If what you are saying is true, the fact that our tax dollars are being used to furnish a comfortable life for someone associated with the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, who claims to have had Austin Tice executed, is offensive."This is nothing less than aiding and abetting the escape of a wanted war criminal. The Syrians deserve justice and he should be returned to stand trial."Where is Austin Tice?Josh Baker enters a dangerous world of fear, greed and betrayal as he uncovers what happened in one of the biggest missing-person cases of our time - the abduction of Austin Tice.Listen on SoundsAs part of a years-long investigation featured in the new BBC podcast: Where is Austin Tice? Series 3 of I'm Not A Monster Presents, the BBC has reviewed a detailed record of a meeting between Hassan, FBI and CIA representatives, and Lebanese security officials, where Tice's case is discussed.In it, Hassan is offered "residency", "protection" and help securing his "living needs" in return for information, primarily about Tice.Sources with knowledge of the arrangement confirmed this was the case, and described to us how Hassan receives money from the US authorities through an intermediary, making it harder to trace. Hassan is sanctioned by the US government.Yet people connected to the Tice investigation say they have seen little evidence it has significantly advanced since Hassan began providing information as part of this agreement. The deal is believed to have been struck in the spring of 2025.Sources with knowledge of the investigation have expressed concerns that Hassan's arrangement with the US could continue indefinitely, at significant expense but with little gain.Hassan is not the only Syrian regime official whose connection to the Tice case has seemingly afforded him financial payments or assistance for living abroad.One former regime member said he had received money from the FBI multiple times in exchange for his co-operation on Tice's case. It was "not in his interest to share all the information all at once," he told the BBC, "in order to be able to drag out how long he can continue to receive payments from them [the US authorities]".Another former regime member connected to the Tice case claimed he was living in Lebanon under the "patronage" of the US authorities, citing this as the reason he could not speak to us about Tice.The BBC spoke to a former senior Lebanese intelligence official who confirmed that Lebanese intelligence does have arrangements with the Americans, and that these types of payments have and do take place when both agencies have overlap in cases, but said he had no knowledge of payments involving the Tice case.Image source, Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty ImagesImage caption, US journalist Austin Tice has been missing since 2012 - Bassam al-Hassan is believed to have been involved in his disappearance Following the fall of the Assad regime in early December 2024, Hassan is believed to have initially escaped to Iran.A Syrian businessman, with strong connections to both the former regime and the Lebanese authorities, told the BBC that negotiations had then taken place - involving the US, Lebanon, and Iran - to bring Hassan to Lebanon.The businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, said Hassan was valuable, not only because of what he is believed to know about Tice, but because of his knowledge of Syria's chemical weapons programme and its military relationship with Iran - secrets that US intelligence was allegedly interested in.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The aftermath of the 2013 chemical attacks in Ghouta, Syria - Bassam al-Hassan is alleged to have shared responsibilityHassan told US investigators last year that Tice had been executed on former President Assad's orders, but several people with knowledge of the investigation have questioned the details of his account. Hassan has provided a potential location for Tice's remains, but when the site was searched, nothing was found - according to multiple sources familiar with the dig - casting doubt on the validity of some of Hassan's information.There are questions, however, over how thoroughly the site was searched. Two sources who said they had intimate knowledge of the operation told the BBC that US authorities stopped digging before the search had been completed, possibly because of security concerns.When the BBC managed to reach Hassan by phone last year to ask for an interview, he directed us to seek permission for him to speak from the FBI and CIA at the US embassy in Beirut.Our investigation has found that other Syrian officials connected to the Tice case have also apparently found refuge abroad.They include Mohammad Makhlouf, who reported to Hassan in Syria and was connected to Tice's detention - now believed to be residing in Lebanon. And Sakr Rustom, Hassan's nephew who was involved in Tice's abduction, now believed to be moving between the UAE and Lebanon. When the BBC attempted to speak to Rustom about Tice's case, he said he "preferred to focus on matters of the future".Ghassan Nassour, a former general in Syria's Republican Guard, is said by former members of the National Defence Forces to have presided over the jail Tice was held in, and is believed to be living in the UAE with his family, we have been told.Related topicsSyriaUS governmentUnited StatesFBICIASyrian civil warBashar al-Assad