List of Syrian defectors
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factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information.
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (October 2013 )
During the rule of the al-Assad family and the Syrian Civil War , a number of prominent Syrian figures have defected to either the rebellion or to other countries:
During Hafez al-Assad rule
During Bashar al-Assad rule
Syrian civil war
Bassim Al Khaled/ بسيم الخالد first lieutenant , defected in June 2011
Mohammad Bassam Imadi , Former Ambassador to Sweden – 2011
Abdul Razzaq Tlass , former Syrian police first lieutenant , defected in June 2011, one of the founders of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade in August 2011, and founder and commander of the Farouq Brigades , October 2011–October 2012
Riad al-Asaad , former colonel in the Syrian Air Force ,[2] and current commander of the Free Syrian Army ,[3] July 2011
Mustafa Al-Sheikh , former General in the Secret Police force , and former head of the Free Syrian Army – 6 January 2012[4] [5]
Imad Ghalioun , parliamentarian for Homs - January 2012 (to Egypt )[6]
Abdo Hussameddin , Deputy Oil Minister – 7 March 2012
Firas Tlass , son of Mustafa Tlass, the former defence minister under Hafez al Assad – 12 March 2012 (to Paris )[7]
Hassan Hamada , Syrian Air Force Colonel – 2012 (to Jordan )
Fares Bayoush , Syrian Air Force lieutenant colonel – July 2012[8]
Manaf Tlass , Brigadier General of the Syrian Republican Guard – 2012 (to Turkey , later Paris )
Nawaf al-Fares , Ambassador to Iraq – 2012 (In Iraq , later moved to Qatar )[9]
Adnan Silu , Major General and former head of Syria's chemical weapons program – July 2012 defected to the opposition.[10]
Abdelatif al-Dabbagh , Ambassador to the UAE , July 2012 (to Qatar )[11]
Lamia al-Hariri , niece of Syrian vice president Farouk al-Sharaa , Envoy to Cyprus , – July 2012 (to Qatar )[12]
Mohammad Tahseen Faqir , military attaché at the Syrian embassy in Oman – July 2012[13]
Ikhlas al-Badawi , Aleppo MP , a Ba'athist and an Assad loyalist, defected to Turkey with her six children – July 2012[14] [15]
Farouk Taha , Ambassador to Belarus . Fled to Belarus in the spring, but did not publicize his defection before late July.[16]
Khaled al-Ayoubi , Chargé d'affaires at the embassy to the United Kingdom and most senior diplomat in the country after higher officials were expelled. – July 2012.[17]
Mohammad Hussam Hafez , Consul at the Syrian embassy in Yerevan , Armenia – July 2012.[18]
General Muhammed Faris , a military aviator who became the first Syrian in space , defects to Turkey.[19]
Riyad Farid Hijab – Syrian Prime minister , August 2012.[20]
Mohammad al Jililati – Finance Minister, reported to have been arrested while trying to defect.[21] Denied by the Syrian state TV, which said Mr Jililati was still in his office working as usual, and it broadcast what it said was a phone interview with him denying reports that he had been detained.
Danny al-Baaj – Syria's representative at the United Nations Human Rights Council , defects to Geneva, 11 July 2012[22] [23]
Brigadier General Ibrahim al-Jabawi – deputy police commander for the central Syrian province of Homs, 12 July 2012 (to Jordan )[24]
Salim Idris – was a general in the Syrian Police Force when he defected in July 2012 [1] [2] . Now serves as the current Chief of Staff of the Free Syrian Army .
Yaroub al-Shara – cousin of Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara .[25]
Naser al-Hariri – Former member of the People's Council of Syria from Daraa , 23 August 2012 (to Jordan )[26]
Mohamed Moussa al-Khairat – Commander of the seventh division within the Syrian Police Force , 25 August 2012 (to Jordan ) [3] [4]
Muhammad Khayr al-Hariri – Former Syrian MP and tribal chief of the southern Daraa region, 27 August (to Jordan ) [5]
Abdullah Al-Omar – Director of several pro-government Syrian Channels, September 2012 [6] [7] .
Mohammad Fares – a Syrian Pilot [8] .
Awad Ahmed al-Ali – head of the security branch in Damascus, September 2012 (to Turkey ) [9] [10]
Emad al-Ahmar – Syrian Consul in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia 8 September 2012 (to Egypt ) [11] [12] .
Mahmoud Obeid – Syrian diplomatic attaché in Malaysia , 8 September 2012 (to Egypt ) [13] [14] .
Bashar al-Haj – Syrian diplomatic attaché in Serbia , September 2012 (?) [15] [16] .
Youssef Assad – Syrian Air Force officer and a family relative of President Bashar Assad [17] .
Khaled Abdul Rahman al Zamel – a Syrian colonel who initially defected to join the opposition forces, and in late September 2012 called on to abandon the insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad (accompanied by around 10 other former rebels) [18] .
Jihad Makdissi – Syrian Forgein Ministry's spokesman, 2 December 2012 (to UK ) [19] [20] .
Adnan Salo – former head of the chemical weapons unit in the Syrian army [21] , 9 December 2012
Major General Abdulaziz al-Shalal – commander of Syria's Military Police, 25 December 2012 [22] [23] .
Kamal Jamal Beyk – Former director of programming at the official SANA radio and the SANA online news website in Damascus, 28 December 2012 (to Paris )[24] .
Lama Al-Khadra – Former state-run radio station Radio Damascus Journalist , 28 December 2012 (to Paris ) [25]
Baddour Abdel Karim – former state-run radio station Radio Damascus Journalist , 28 December 2012 (to Paris ) [26]
Maj. Gen Mohammed Ezz al-Din Khalouf – chief of supplies and logistics of Syrian Armed Police Forces , 16 March 2013 (to Jordan ).[27]
Sayf Balud – former First Lieutenant in the Syrian Army [28]
Anwar Raslan - former Syrian colonel who led a unit of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate . Fled to Jordan then sought Asylum in Germany, where in January 2022, he was convicted of crimes against humanity in a German Higher Regional Court .[29]
References
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^ Cornish, Chloe; Solomon, Erika (23 April 2020). "High-profile Syrian war crimes trial begins in Germany. Intelligence official charged with overseeing 4,000 counts of torture and 58 murders" . Financial Times . Retrieved 2021-01-03 .