Hassan Khalil
Hassan Khalil | |
---|---|
حسن خليل | |
Head of Military Intelligence Directorate | |
In office 2000–2005 | |
President | Bashar al-Assad |
Prime Minister | Muhammad Mustafa Mero Muhammad Naji al-Otari |
Preceded by | Ali Duba |
Succeeded by | Assef Shawkat |
Deputy Director of Military Intelligence | |
In office 1993–2000 | |
Prime Minister | Mahmoud Al-Zoubi |
Personal details | |
Born | Latakia, Syria |
Died | Damascus, Syria |
Political party | Ba'ath Party |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Syria |
Branch/service | Syrian Arab Army |
Hassan Khalil (Arabic: حسن خليل) is the former Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate of Syria, serving from 2000 to 2005. He previously held the position of deputy director from 1993 to 2000.[1]
Prior to the Syrian civil war, Khalil was a key figure in Syria’s efforts to improve relations with the United States and the West, using intelligence sharing as a significant element for cooperation. [2]
Controversies
[edit]Implication in Rafic Hariri assassination
[edit]Hassan Khalil was one of several high-ranking Syrian government and military officials identified in a draft of the United Nations Mehlis Report, which was mistakenly released as a Microsoft Word document retaining all edits since its creation. This draft implicated them in the assassination of Rafic Hariri.[3][4] However, the final Mehlis Report did not specifically name any Syrian government officials as responsible for the assassination. The Syrian ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, criticized the report, stating it was “full of political rumors, gossip, and hearsay.”[3]
Role in quelling civilian opposition in Syrian civil war
[edit]Syrian President Bashar al-Assad relied on Hassan Khalil in his capacity as head of Military Intelligence, to quel internal dissent with an "iron fist" during the Syrian uprising.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Who Rules Syria? Bashar al-Asad and the Alawi 'Barons'". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ Livermore, Daniel (2018). Detained : Islamic fundamentalist extremism and the war on terror in Canada. Montreal. p. 182. ISBN 978-0-7735-5551-8. OCLC 1055049563.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b "Syria's Response to the Mehlis Report". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ "Official: Mehlis probe calls Syrians". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Phillips, David L. (2021). Frontline Syria : from revolution to proxy war. London. ISBN 978-0-7556-0260-5. OCLC 1178645181.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)