General in hiding faces U.S. sanctions

Bassam al-Hassan, a former Syrian general who oversaw the country's chemical weapons program and advised President Bashar al-Assad, is living in Beirut after fleeing Syria in 2024.

U.S. and Lebanon protect wanted general

An NPR and BBC investigation found Hassan is bankrolled and protected by American and Lebanese authorities under an arrangement involving the FBI and other officials.

Journalist's case drives the arrangement

Hassan is allowed to remain in Lebanon partly because he has provided information about the abduction of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012, according to four anonymous sources.

FBI and CIA offer residency and cash

A detailed record reviewed by the BBC shows Hassan was offered residency, protection, and help securing his living needs in a meeting with FBI, CIA, and Lebanese security officials.

Money flows through hidden channels

Hassan receives payments through an intermediary, making the money harder to trace. Other Syrian regime officials connected to Tice's case also claim to receive financial assistance from U.S. authorities.

Syria wants Hassan back for trial

Officials from Syria's new government told NPR and the BBC they want Hassan returned to face trial, but say U.S. authorities want him kept in Beirut and there is little Damascus can do.

Hassan directed reporters to the FBI

When BBC reporters reached Hassan by phone to request an interview, he told them to seek permission from FBI and CIA officials at the U.S. embassy before he would speak.

Tice family calls arrangement offensive

Phil Elwood, spokesperson for the Tice family, said using tax dollars to support someone associated with chemical weapons use and who claims Tice was executed is aiding a war criminal's escape.

“If what you are saying is true, the fact that our tax dollars are being used to furnish a comfortable life for someone associated with the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, who claims to have had Austin Tice executed, is offensive.”

Hassan claims Tice was executed

Hassan told U.S. investigators that Tice was executed on Assad's orders. He provided a potential location for Tice's remains, but the site was searched and nothing was found.

Search may have stopped too early

Two sources told the BBC that U.S. authorities stopped digging before the search was completed, possibly because of security concerns, casting doubt on the validity of Hassan's information.

Tice's mother seeks answers in Lebanon

Debra Tice, Austin's mother, was told by an FBI official that Hassan was in Beirut. She flew to Lebanon in May twenty twenty-five to attempt to meet him but was unsuccessful.

“I don't want to interrogate him. I don't want to berate him, I don't want to scold him. That's not my job. I want to know about my son.”

Other regime officials also in hiding

Mohammad Makhlouf, a senior officer at Tice's detention facility, is in Lebanon. Sakr Rustom, Hassan's nephew and connected to Tice's abduction, is in the United Arab Emirates. Ghassan Nassour, a former general, is also in the U.A.E.

Questions remain about Hassan's credibility

Several people with knowledge of the investigation have questioned the details of Hassan's account about Tice. One former regime member admitted to the BBC he was dragging out information to continue receiving FBI payments.

“not in my interest to share all the information all at once, in order to be able to drag out how long I can continue to receive payments from them.”