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Rifaat al-Assad
Rifaat al-Assad | |
|---|---|
رفعت الأسد | |
 Assad, c. 1980s | |
| Vice President of Syria | |
| In office 11 March 1984 – 8 February 1998 Serving with Abdul Halim Khaddam and Zuhair Masharqa | |
| President | Hafez al-Assad |
| Member of the Regional Command of the Syrian Regional Branch | |
| In office 15 April 1975 – 8 February 1998 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 August 1937 Qardaha, Alawite State, Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (now Qardaha, Latakia Governorate, Syria)[1] |
| Political party | Ba'ath Party |
| Spouse(s) | Amira al-Assad Sana' Makhluf Rajaa Bakrat Lina al-Khayer |
| Children | Siwar al-Assad Ribal al-Assad |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Jamil al-Assad (brother) Hafez al-Assad (brother) Bashar al-Assad (nephew) |
| Alma mater | Damascus University (BA), Soviet Academy of Sciences (PhD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Arab Republic(1958–1961) Ba'athist Syria(1961–1984) |
| Branch/service |  Syrian Army Defense Companies |
| Years of service | 1958–1984 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | Defense Companies |
| Battles/wars | |
Rifaat Ali al-Assad (Arabic: رِفْعَتُ عَلِيِّ ٱلْأَسَدِ, romanized: Rifʿat al-ʾAsad; born 22 August 1937), known as the "Butcher of Hama",[2][3] is a Syrian former military officer and politician. He is the younger brother of the late President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, and Jamil al-Assad, and the uncle of the former President Bashar al-Assad. He was the commanding officer of the ground operations of the 1982 Hama massacre ordered by his brother.[4][5]
After launching a failed coup attempt against Hafez al-Assad in 1984,[6][7] Rifaat lived in exile in Europe for 36 years and returned to Syria in October 2021 after being found guilty in France of acquiring millions of euros diverted from the Syrian state.[8][9] In September 2022, France's highest court, the Cour de Cassation, confirmed the ruling.[10]
In August 2023, Switzerland issued an international warrant for Rifaat's arrest after its Federal Criminal Court demanded his extradition to prosecute him for his role in supervising ground operations of the 1982 Hama massacre. The warrant was issued as part of the proceedings related to the war crimes complaint filed in 2013 by the human rights organization "TRIAL International" at the Swiss Office of Attorney General. In March 2024, the Swiss OAG charged Rifaat with numerous crimes committed in the February 1982 Hama massacre.[11][12][13][14]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
meib1600was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pegg, David; Siddons, Ed; Byrne, Rob; Mahdhi, Meriem (16 December 2024). "Assad uncle used Guernsey adviser to secretly manage vast wealth". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "Syria's Rifaat al-Assad: From 'butcher of Hama' to real estate tycoon". France 24. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
- ^ "'The enforcer' who heads Syria's dreaded army division". FRANCE 24. 4 March 2012.
Rifaat al-Assad is perhaps best-known for his role in personally overseeing the notorious 1982 Hama massacre, in which at least 10,000 people were killed.
- ^ "Assad's cousin: West is right to back Syrian opposition, but it is backing the wrong one". Haaretz. 29 March 2012.
every report from the period clearly puts Rifat at the center of the Hama operation
- ^ Kifner, John (12 September 1984). "Assad's Brother exiled 'forever', Syrian declares". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023.
- ^ Hamidi, Ibrahim (11 October 2021). "Rifaat Assad: Challenged his Brother for Syria's Presidency, Aged in Exile, Pardoned by his Nephew". Asharq al-Awsat. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Uncle of Syria's Assad returns home from decades-long exile". France 24. 8 October 2021.
- ^ "Rifaat al-Assad: Syrian President's uncle jailed in France for money laundering". BBC News. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
- ^ "French top court upholds prison sentence of Bashar al-Assad's uncle". Reuters. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "War crimes in Syria: Switzerland Launches an international arrest warrant for the extradition of Rifaat al-Assad". Trial International. 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Swiss prosecutors issue arrest warrant for Rifaat al-Assad". SWI swissinfo.ch. 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Switzerland issues arrest warrant for uncle of Syria's Assad". The National. 16 August 2023. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Syrian president's uncle to stand trial in Switzerland for crimes against humanity". France 24. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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