Zaman al-Wasl obtained hundreds of classified documents, dated 2012, showing that the then-President of the regime, Bashar al-Assad, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, approved the referral of hundreds of Syrian military defectors to the Field Military Court. Most of them were sentenced to death by firing squad, and the sentences were carried out.
These documents, which were presented to Assad, constitute direct evidence of his knowledge of and personal approval of these exceptional judicial procedures that affected hundreds of people at the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
Document Details
Zaman al-Wasl publishes one of the documents it obtained: a memorandum addressed to the President of the regime, which includes:
- Subject: "Memorandum from the Office of the Deputy Commander-in-Chief – Minister of Defense regarding the referral of all those whose names were included in the memorandum from the Head of the Organization and Administration Division to the Field Military Court." Summary: The document refers to a previous memorandum containing the names of "a group of defectors" and summarizes the opinion of military leaders requesting approval to refer these individuals to a field military court to adjudicate their crimes, "given the specific and general deterrent effect of the resulting rulings."
Signatories of the document (dated 2012)
The document shows the signatures of three high-ranking officers in the Syrian regime's military and security hierarchy at that time, confirming the chain of command and approval:
- The General, Head of the Organization and Administration Division.
- The General, Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces and Minister of Defense.
- General Daoud Rajha, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Minister of Defense.
- Decision of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces (Bashar al-Assad).
By Editor-in-Chief
Zaman Al Wasl
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