A former Syrian general wanted over alleged crimes against humanity is living in Lebanon under an arrangement involving US and Lebanese authorities, according to a BBC investigation.
Bassam al-Hassan, who supervised Syria’s chemical weapons programme and served as a senior adviser to former President Bashar al-Assad, has stayed in Lebanon since the collapse of Assad’s regime in 2024.
An investigation by the BBC and US broadcaster NPR found that Hassan has been permitted to remain in Lebanon through an arrangement involving the FBI and other American and Lebanese officials.
Sources familiar with the deal said Hassan is supplying information about the 2012 abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria, along with other intelligence.
The BBC previously reported that Tice’s abduction was a planned operation and that Hassan was among those in the chain of command involved.
Two officials from Syria’s new government told the BBC they want Hassan sent back to Syria to stand trial. However, they said US authorities want him to stay in Lebanon, leaving Damascus with limited ability to act.
The BBC contacted the FBI, CIA and Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security for comment. The FBI declined to comment on the findings and referred the broadcaster to an earlier statement saying its priority remained determining what happened to Tice and securing his return.
Phil Elwood, a spokesperson for the Tice family, condemned the reported arrangement, saying it would be offensive if US taxpayers’ money were being used to support someone linked to the alleged use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians and Tice’s reported execution.
The findings are part of a years-long BBC investigation featured in its podcast, “Where is Austin Tice?”, which examined records of a meeting involving Hassan, FBI and CIA officials and Lebanese security authorities.
Records reviewed by the BBC indicate that Hassan was offered residency, protection and financial assistance for living expenses in return for information, mainly related to Tice.
People familiar with the arrangement said Hassan receives funds from US authorities through an intermediary, making the payments harder to trace. He is also under US sanctions.
However, people connected to the Tice investigation said there is little evidence that Hassan’s cooperation has substantially helped efforts to locate the missing journalist since the agreement was reached in spring 2025.
Sources familiar with the investigation have also raised concerns that the arrangement could remain in place indefinitely, potentially costing the US significant sums while yielding limited results.
Hassan is reportedly not the only former Syrian regime official to receive financial assistance or other support connected to the Tice investigation.
One former regime member told the BBC he had received several payments from the FBI in return for cooperating with investigators. He suggested that keeping some information back could enable the payments to continue for longer.
Another former regime member linked to the case said he was living in Lebanon under US “patronage”, which he said prevented him from discussing Tice’s case with the BBC.
A former senior Lebanese intelligence official confirmed that Lebanese intelligence agencies have arrangements with their US counterparts and that payments can be made when investigations overlap. However, he said he was unaware of payments specifically related to the Tice case.
After Assad’s government collapsed in early December 2024, Hassan is believed to have initially escaped to Iran.
A Syrian businessman with close ties to the former regime and Lebanese authorities told the BBC that talks involving the US, Lebanon and Iran later took place to move Hassan to Lebanon.
The businessman, who asked not to be identified, said Hassan was regarded as valuable because of his alleged knowledge of Tice, Syria’s chemical weapons programme and the country’s military ties with Iran.
Hassan told US investigators last year that Tice had been executed on Assad’s orders. However, several people familiar with the investigation have challenged parts of his account.
Hassan also gave investigators a possible location for Tice’s remains. But a search of the site found nothing, according to several sources familiar with the operation, casting doubt on some of the information he provided.
There are also questions over whether the search was fully completed. Two sources with detailed knowledge of the operation told the BBC that US authorities halted excavation before the site had been completely searched, possibly because of security concerns.
When the BBC called Hassan last year to request an interview, he said he would need approval from the FBI and CIA at the US embassy in Beirut before speaking.
The BBC investigation found that other former Syrian officials connected to the Tice case also appear to have found refuge outside Syria.
They include Mohammad Makhlouf, who reported to Hassan in Syria and was linked to Tice’s detention. He is now believed to be living in Lebanon.
Sakr Rustom, Hassan’s nephew, was also involved in Tice’s abduction and is believed to travel between the UAE and Lebanon.
When the BBC contacted Rustom about Tice’s case, he said he preferred to concentrate on “matters of the future”.
Ghassan Nassour, a former general in Syria’s Republican Guard, has also been accused by former members of the National Defence Forces of overseeing the prison where Tice was detained.
Nassour is believed to be living with his family in the UAE, according to sources familiar with his whereabouts.
Goodness Anunobi
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