Investigation: Syrian general lives in Beirut under US and Lebanese protection — NPR
Former Syrian General Bassam al-Hassan, who is under US sanctions and, according to the investigation, is internationally wanted for crimes against humanity, lives in Beirut. A joint investigation by NPR and the BBC found that he remains in Lebanon under an arrangement involving US and Lebanese authorities.
Arrangement for his stay
Al-Hassan was a senior adviser to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and headed Syria's chemical weapons program. After the fall of Assad's regime in 2024, he first fled to Iran and later moved to Lebanon's capital.
According to four people familiar with the arrangement, al-Hassan's ability to remain in Lebanon is partly linked to his willingness to provide information about the 2012 abduction in Syria of American journalist Austin Tice and other intelligence. The BBC reviewed a detailed record of a meeting involving al-Hassan, representatives of the FBI and CIA, and Lebanese security officials. It mentions an offer of a residence permit, protection and assistance in meeting living needs.
Sources familiar with the arrangement said that money is transferred to al-Hassan through an intermediary, making the payments difficult to trace. Representatives of two bodies of Syria's new authorities told NPR and the BBC that Damascus wants the general returned to Syria to stand trial, but that the US side wants him to remain in Beirut.
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The Austin Tice case
According to the BBC, in 2025 al-Hassan told US investigators that Tice had been executed on Assad's orders. At the same time, several people familiar with the investigation questioned the details of this version. Al-Hassan named a possible location of the journalist's remains, but several anonymous sources said that searches there found nothing.
Two sources claiming direct knowledge of the operation told the BBC that US authorities halted the excavation before the search was completed, possibly for security reasons. The CIA and Lebanon's General Directorate of General Security did not respond to requests for comment. The FBI declined to comment, referring to an earlier statement about efforts to establish the circumstances of Tice's case and secure his return.
The journalist's mother, Debra Tice, told the BBC that an FBI representative informed her about al-Hassan's presence in Beirut and contacts with him. In May 2025, she traveled to Lebanon to meet the general, but was unable to do so.
