Syrian General Intelligence Branch 251 Explained

Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Branch 251 (Arabic: إدارة المخابرات العامة الفرع الداخلي (251)), also known as internal branch or Al-Khatib branch,^{[1] [2] [3]} is the unit of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate concerned with internal security. It has been responsible for security in the Damascus region.^[4] Branch 251 operates Al-Khatib prison, a detention and torture center located in the Muhajreen neighborhood in central Damascus.

Anwar Raslan, the former Syrian colonel who was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison in Germany, commanded a unit in Branch 251.^[5]

United States Department of Treasury Sanctions

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria identified Branch 251 and Al-Khatib prison as a facility controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate where death in detention and torture have occurred.^[6] Branch 251 was designated pursuant to Executive Order 13572 (E.O. 13572), which blocks property of certain properties with respect to Human Rights Abuses in Syria, as being owned or controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate. The head of Branch 251, Ahmed Al-Dib, was designated pursuant to E.O. 13572 for being a senior official of the Syrian GID and subject to US Treasury sanctions.

List of heads

• Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek (?–1999)^{[7] [8]}
• Bahjat Suleiman (1999–June 2005)^[9]
• Fouad Nasif Kheirbek (June 2005–2011)^{[10] [11]}
• Tawfiq Younes (2011–2016),^[12] the European Union sanctioned him for "being involved in violence against the civilian population during the Syrian uprisings".^[13]
• Ahmed Al-Dib (2016 – present),^[14] sanctioned by the United States Treasury for leading Syrian General Intelligence Directorate Branch 251, has been implicated in reports of arbitrary detention and torture of detainees since at least 2011.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria - Report on Khateeb Branch- State Security . 2022-05-14 . www.vdc-sy.info.
2. Web site: 2020-04-29 . Torture and death: Life in al-Khateeb detention center . 2022-05-14 . Syria Direct . en-US.
3. Web site: 'Physical evidence' of killings presented at Syrian officials' trial in Germany . 2022-05-14 . Middle East Eye . en.
4. Web site: 2019-10-30 . Two Syrian Intelligence Officers Charged with Committing Crimes Against Humanity . 2022-05-08 . The Syrian Observer.
5. Web site: 2022-01-12 . German court to issue verdict against former Syrian intelligence officer . 2022-05-14 . the Guardian . en.
6. Web site: Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group . 2022-07-23 . U.S. Department of the Treasury . en.
7. Zisser . Eyal . September 1995 . The Succession Struggle in Damascus . The Middle East Quarterly . 2 . 3 . 57–64 . 8 June 2011.
8. Bar . Shmuel . 2006 . Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview . dead . Comparative Strategy . 25 . 5 . 425 . 10.1080/01495930601105412 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723214138/http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2590Bashars.pdf . 23 July 2011 . 15 May 2011 . 154739379.
9. Web site: SyriaComment.com . 5 November 2014.
10. Book: Phares, [[Robert G. Rabil]] ; foreword by Walid . Syria, the United States, and the war on terror in the Middle East . Praeger security international . 2006 . 9780275990152 . Westport (Conn.) . 215.
11. Web site: SyriaComment.com . 5 November 2014.
12. Web site: Tawfiq Younes . 2022-05-14 . Pro Justice . en-GB.
13. 2011 . Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011 . EuroLex . 52011PC0887 . 10 March 2012.
14. Web site: Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group . 2022-07-23 . U.S. Department of the Treasury . en.