Syria arrests top official who sentenced thousands to death in Sednaya, report claims

Syria's new government have arrested a top military official responsible for issuing thousands of death sentences in the country's infamous Sednaya prison under former leader Bashar al-Assad, UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the organisation that has been monitoring the war in Syria for over a decade, al-Hassan was arrested alongside 20 others on Thursday after clashes erupted in the coastal province of Tartus between security officials and al-Assad loyalists who sought to protect the former justice.

Fourteen members of the government forces were killed in clashes, according to Mohammed Abdel Rahman, Syria’s interim interior minister.

Al-Hassan would be the highest ranking official to be arrested since rebel fighters led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, led a stunning offensive that toppled long-time leader Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

In 2023, al-Hassan was sanctioned by the UK government for "repressing the civilian population in Syria." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said al-Hassan was responsible for crimes in the country's infamous Sednaya prison -- where humanitarian organisations warned opponents of al-Assad's regime were relentlessly tortured.

NGO the Association of Prisoners and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), said al-Hassan headed the Syrian military court from 2011 to 2014 during the first three years of civil war in Syria. He was then promoted to head of the country's military justice system.

ADMSP's co-founder, Diab Serrija, said al-Hassan sentenced "thousands of people" to death during his tenure whilst simultaneously extorting around €143 million from relatives of the prisoners in exchange for information about their loved ones.

The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, founded in exile, said al-Hassan was one of the "Assad regime's criminals" and that his arrest marked an important step towards the investigation of crimes committed under al-Assad's rule.

The move indicates that members of HTS are stepping up efforts to hold former members of the al-Assad regime accountable, as they attempt to build a system of governance in the fractured country.

International organisations have called for the urgent establishment of mechanisms of accountability in the country where a new judiciary has not yet been organised by rebel fighters.

Instances of unrest in various parts of the country indicate HTS may face challenges in trying to implement peaceful governance. Over the past week, members of al-Assad's minority Alawite community have staged protests in the west and in the central city of Homs over a video posted online allegedly showing a Alawite shrine set alight.

Alongside deadly clashes during the hunt for al-Hassan, protests also broke out in the country's capital of Damascus over the burning of a Christmas tree -- sparking fears of sectarian conflict.

HTS have promised to create a pluralist system in the country which is home to multiple religious communities. Their group is, however, is rooted in a fundamentalist Islamist ideology leading to concern that minority communities, including Christians, Druse and Alawites, could face prosecution.

HTS' leader Ahmad al-Shara, previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, has promised that minorities will be protected.

On Thursday, the interim ministry of information said it was banning the publication of content with “a sectarian character that seeks to spread division."