At least 96,000 Syrians are wanted to Assad’s Intelligence: leaked list

Translation by Dani Murad

(Zaman Alwasl)- Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, Syrians have been arbitrarily arrested, detained, physically abused, harassed, and tortured by the government forces, pro-regime militias, and mainly by the country’s many intelligence agencies, collectively called the mukhabarat.

In this context, Zaman Alwasl has obtained a list of 96 thousand Syrians, who are wanted by the “Air Force Intelligence directorate” “Arabic: Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya”, yet the accuracy of such list hasn’t been confirmed yet, and the person who sent the information preferred anonymity.

The list in details, lays out the person’s name, parents’ names, birthplace, age, address, “accusation” under variant charges of (possessing weapons , conspiring against the state, funding and agitating terrorist acts, and leading armed groups) in addition to the intelligence agency and detailed information of what he/she has done.

However, it is noted that this information is mostly obtained from intelligence reports or informants due to the accuracy of its content in describing the actions and descriptions.

And despite verifying 500 names that were listed randomly, Zaman Alwasl doesn’t adopt this file, and has already published at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, lists of 10 thousand wanted civilians for the Air Force and military Intelligence in Homs, and a longer list of names of wanted throughout Syria.

However, these lists raise a lot of doubts about the objectives behind leaking them, the authenticity of names contained therein and their security situation, especially when many of them were published to be used in blackmailing or extortion, while others with a particular sectarian affiliation were not mentioned at all.

For his part, a former detainee has told Zaman Alwasl that the source’s aim of revealing this list is to either alert the wanted persons, or give credit to some informants in order to facilitate their access to the distressed community and the opposition.

While other former detainees believe that the leaking is masterminded by the Air Force Intelligence, which might deleted some important names to entrap them , believing they are not wanted and thus moving freely until being arrested or observed , and the list might also contain names of detainees who had already been liquidated .

Therefore, Zaman Alwasl points out that it won’t adopt this list as the last reference of wanted people, and has only published it; to present it to the public opinion.