Zaman al-Wasl has obtained access to a leaked archive of Syria’s intelligence and criminal records, containing around 2.5 million criminal notices and 1.7 million intelligence notices and arrest warrants, including 28 notices against members of the Assad family.
The leaked records show an arrest warrant for MP Ammar al-Assad, nephew of Jamil Assad, issued by the Passport and Immigration Agency, connected to a previous arrest warrant from Interpol.
Surprisingly, there is no notice within Ammar’s official criminal record mentioning the Interpol warrant. Instead, the only notices reference one incident involving brawling and shooting, and three others for applications to grant criminal clearances (two of which were issued in 2011), indicating the Interpol notice had been withdrawn from the criminal records system prior to parliamentary elections.
Ammar Assad began his criminal career in the coastal city of Lattakia city, an Alawite stronghold and important Syrian seaport. He started work with his uncle, Jamil, who facilitated the transfer of illegal materials to and from the seaport. Ammar was later appointed as manager of operations at Lattakia seaport, providing him with an opportunity to smuggle drugs and other contraband into Syria.
After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, Ammar was elected as a member of the Syrian Parliament, as well as being appointed as manager of the paramilitary National Defense Forces in Lattakia. As a warlord leading thousands of mercenaries and shabeeha all over Syria, he was also in control of millions of dollars allocated to support the pro-Assad forces.
During the same period, Ammar was also appointed as supervisor for international aid, placing him in contact with millions of dollars in foreign aid supplies to use as he saw fit, and often at his opposition's expense.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
