On Wednesday, the People’s Assembly of the Syrian regime voted to allow the prosecution of two of its members, following the removal of a parliament member due to his Turkish citizenship.
The Assembly granted permission to prosecute Mujahid Ismail and Khaled Zubeidi, but did not provide specific reasons or further details.
According to Hashtag, the decision was prompted by separate lawsuits: Ismail is accused of fraud, while Zubeidi faces allegations of misappropriating public funds.
The site clarified that lifting immunity does not equate to the cancellation of a member’s position in the Assembly; rather, it allows for judicial procedures and investigations. If charges are substantiated, the MP may ultimately face the loss of their membership.
A member of parliament and a militia commander
Zubeidi is reportedly a businessman who owns several companies in Syria, while Ismail leads the Baath Brigades militia; he was appointed to this position by the Baath Party’s Central Command last month.
Ismail previously commanded the Baath Brigades in rural Damascus and served on the Baath Party’s Central Committee before becoming a member of the People’s Assembly after the elections in July.
Mujahid Ismail is the son of officer Fouad Majid Ismail, who originated from Qardaha, the Assad family’s birthplace, and had close ties to Hafez al-Assad. Fouad held several senior positions, including leadership of the 21st Mechanized Brigade, which played a key role in suppressing the anti-regime movement in the early 1980s, participating in the battles of Aleppo, Jisr al-Shughour, and Hama in 1982.
In 2011, Mujahid Ismail stormed the Samir Amis Hotel during an opposition meeting, questioning the audience about who authorized the gathering. When Muhammad Habash mentioned that the approval came verbally from the regime’s vice president, Farouk al-Shara, Mujahid reacted aggressively, cursing both Habash and Sharaa. He also entered the “Rawda Café” in Damascus, physically assaulted actor Salloum Haddad over his ambiguous political stance regarding the regime, and threatened the son of former Defense Minister Firas Tlass, saying, “Your worth is one bullet.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
