Syria intensifies crackdown with arrest of senior Assad-era figure

The Syrian Interior Ministry has announced the arrest of Jaiz Hammoud al-Mousa, who previously served as chief of staff of the country’s air force under the former government of Bashar al-Assad.

The operation was carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Department, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

The ministry did not immediately provide further details on the circumstances of the arrest or possible charges.

In April, a Syrian court held its first hearing in the trial of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and senior figures from his former government, marking the start of transitional justice proceedings, with one defendant appearing in person.

Assad and his brother Maher, who fled the country, will be tried in absentia. However, their relative, former security official Atef Najib, appeared in court in handcuffs.

According to a judicial source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, the session marked the beginning of preparations for full trials involving Assad, his brother, and other senior figures, including Najib.

Najib, who was arrested in January 2025 following the collapse of the Assad government, appeared in a Damascus courtroom wearing a striped prison jersey.

He previously led Syria’s political security branch in the southern province of Daraa, where the country’s 2011 uprising first began, and is accused of overseeing a широкая campaign of repression and arrests.

Assad fled to Moscow in December 2024 as Islamist-led forces advanced on Damascus, bringing an end to more than five decades of rule by his family.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov