A former Syrian general facing U.S. sanctions and wanted internationally for crimes against humanity is living quietly in Lebanon, bankrolled and protected by American and Lebanese authorities, a joint BBC and NPR investigation has found. Bassam al-Hassan, who oversaw Syria's chemical weapons program and was a senior advisor to former President Bashar al-Assad, moved to Beirut after fleeing Syria following the Assad regime's collapse in 2024. An investigation by the BBC and NPR has found that Hassan has been allowed to remain there under an arrangement involving the FBI and other U.S. and Lebanese authorities.
This is at least partly because of his willingness to provide information about the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, as well as additional intelligence, according to four sources familiar with the arrangement who asked to remain anonymous because of threats to their livelihood and safety. As part of a years-long investigation featured in the new NPR's Embedded and BBC series called Where is Austin Tice? the BBC has reviewed a detailed record of a meeting between Hassan, representatives of the FBI and CIA, and Lebanese security officials, where Tice's case is discussed. In it, Hassan is offered "residency," "protection," and help securing his "living needs." Sources with knowledge of the arrangement described how Hassan receives money through an intermediary, making it harder to trace.
Officials from two different branches of Syria's new government, who requested anonymity because they are unauthorized to speak to the press about this case, have told NPR and the BBC they want Hassan returned to Syria to face trial but that U.S. authorities want him kept in Beirut, and they say there is little Damascus can do about this. When reporters for the BBC reached Hassan by phone last year to ask for an interview, he directed them to seek permission for him to speak from "the FBI and CIA officials at the [U.S.] embassy." Asked for comment, officials with the CIA and Lebanon's security agency, the General Directorate of General Security, did not respond. The FBI declined to comment and instead pointed 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." Hassan is under sanctions from the U.S.
Treasury Department for his role in the Assad government, where, in addition to running the chemical weapons program, he served as a top adviser to the president. Last month NPR and the BBC reported Tice's abduction had been a planned operation, with Hassan in the chain of command. Since his disappearance, Tice has been the subject of one of the American government's most high-profile missing persons cases, with presidents Biden and Trump both discussing it publicly and sending teams to the Middle East to negotiate with Syrian officials.
Hassan is not the only Syrian regime official connected to the Tice case who claims to receive financial payments or assistance for living abroad. Two others spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they feared for their safety if they spoke publicly. One former regime member said he had received money from the FBI multiple times in exchange for his cooperation on Tice's case.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
