President bashar al assad of syria and the al nusra front and foreign mujahideen uprising to create the islamic state of iraq and syria. Dec 07, 2018 hafez al assad was the architect of modern syria. The history behind bashar alassads rise to power and the civil war. Assad familys british property empire frozen news the times. Uk freezes rifaat alassads assets middle east monitor. Home no holds barred as assad s family battle for the right to succession.
Rifaat alassad was born on 22 august 1937 in qardaha, in northwestern syria. Capturing the topsecret documents that tie the syrian regime to mass torture and killings. Political scientists have characterized the assad familys rule of syria as a personalist dictatorship. His name is ribal alassad and the genuine syrian opposition regard him warily since he represents one side of a decadesold squabble within the ruling family. Family dynamics drive syrian president assad bbc news. Assads uncle facing trial for war crimes in switzerland. The family name assad goes back to 1927, when ali sulayman changed his last name to alassad, ara. Rifaat al assad is born in 1937, also in al qurdaha. Activists say he stole money from syria while part of the countrys feared.
Bashar alassads cousin threatened with beheading daily. Syrians struggle to decipher assad clans dirty laundry. His family were alawites, belonging to a branch regarded by some as heretical. Properties controlled by assads uncle seized in european. Alassad national library library, damascus, syria britannica.
Its not like duvalier or assad passing the torch to the son and heir. The youngest brother of hafez al assad, the syrian dictator who passed power on to bashar al assad, rifaat was vice president of the country in the 1980s before being forced into exile amid. He is alleged by some sources to be the commanding officer responsible for the hama massacre of 1982. No holds barred as assads family battle for the right to. Al wahhish remained the family name until the 1920s when it was changed to al assad which means lion in arabic. He is the younger brother of the former president of syria, hafez alassad, and the uncle of the incumbent president bashar alassad. Assad s brothers, jemil, has departed abruptly for paris, where another brother, rifaat, spent part of a long exile. Sep 10, 20 a short history of syrias brutal first family. Apr 30, 2011 as syrian president bashar al assad struggles to put down widespread protests against his government, the bbcs kim ghattas examines the family intrigue constraining his actions. The assad family originates from sulayman al wahhish, hafez assad s grandfather, who lived in the northern syrian mountains in the village of qardaha. The moral forces behind syrian prez bashar alassad covert.
Police in southern spain have staged raids targeting assets of the extended family of the syrian leader, bashar alassad, a judicial source said. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. Anisa makhlouf front, left married president hafez alassad, father of bashar second leftafp. Rifaat ali al assad is the younger brother of the former president of syria, hafez assad and jamil assad, and the uncle of the incumbent president bashar al assad. Spanish police launch raids targeting rifaat alassads. While serving as a counterterrorism and counterintelligence specialist, michele realized the value of being different in an industry that was largely lacking in diversity. Rifaat al assad on personalities from the book of revelation.
The syrian presidency released footage on twitter, saturday, showing syrian president bashar al assad walking in an administrative building, following usled. Amid these dangers, malek researched, mining the memories of relatives and friends to verify family lore. The assads are originally from qardaha, just east of latakia in northwest syria. Rifaat al assad, bashar alassads uncle, investigated in. Bashar alassads use of a network of selected advisers among them the inner circle who are party to the hidden email accounts is a tactic straight from his father. No holds barred as assad s family battle for the right to succession crescent international. Top adviser to syrian president bashar alassad calls on.
Bushras husband, security bigwig assef shawkat, was killed in the july 18th bombing. The alassad family has ruled syria since hafez alassad became president of syria in 1971 and established an authoritarian to totalitarian regime under the. The debate over whether hafez alassad of syria would ever make peace with israel has now been settled. The interior ministry said in 2016 that it was not in the public interest to grant the wider assad family citizenship. Rifaat al assad and his sons are the beneficiaries of the europort trust.
President bashar alassad of syria ebook by heinz duthel. He had supported his alawite sect along with other minorities to secure their support for him and to act as a counterweight to the sunnis, showing favoritism toward those who supported him. International editor lindsey hilsum travelled to paris to speak to rifaat assad about his nephew, bashar and the civil war. After assad became president in 2000, suleiman handled his intelligence affairs and was reportedly also in charge of arms transfers from syria to hizballah in neighboring lebanon. Corruption trial for assad uncle begins in paris news.
Rifaat al assad built a french property empire with stolen syrian state funds, prosecutors allege. The embattled presidents father, hafez alassad one whose rule can only be. The raids, in the puerto banus marina area of the plush resort of marbella, are the result of a corruption investigation launched in france into assads uncle, rifaat alassad. Rifaat al assad, 73, the former vice president of syria, moved more than a year ago to a georgian mansion off park lane, next door to his son ribal, 36, who lives in a similar property. The alassad family has ruled syria since hafez alassad became president of syria in 1971 and established an authoritarian to totalitarian regime under the control of the baath party. Rifaat al assad was born in the village of qardaha, near lattakia in western syria on 22 august 1937. The assets are estimated to be worth millions, according to the report. The al assad clan had opportunities to benefit from insider trading practices, given that they controlled government economic policy, and to receive business licenses and contracts. The library associated with the university of damascus is also significant.
Robin wright reports on syrias assad dynasty, the presidents hafez alassad to bashar alassad, and their relations with u. The older son basil alassad, who died in a car crash in january of 1994, was known for hisa acrimoniousa anger and uncontrollable disposition. The crown prosecution service has started to freeze assets worth millions of pounds linked to an uncle of bashar al assad, the syrian dictator, but was too late to stop the sale of a mansion he owned. It said rifaat al assad was a wellknown and prominent member of his. After his death in 2000, his son bashar succeeded him. Sep 18, 2017 the assets of rifaat al assad, the uncle of syrian regime leader bashar al assad, have been frozen, according to the times. Mps are wrong to welcome the son of a hated syrian chris. The telegraph added that the woman, 63, is the fourth wife of bashar al assad s uncle, rifaat al assad, 80, who left syria in the mideighties after a power struggle with his brother, then ruler. Following decades of coups and countercoups in syria, hafez used the network he had built in the posts of commander of the syrian air force and minister of defence to seize power in 1970. Bashar alassad wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. He is the younger brother of hafez and the youngest of the family s 11 children. Contents syrian arab republic princeton university. French judges targeting rifaat alassad corrupt fortune. It was bassels death in 1994 that devastated the family and dramatically changed bashars trajectory.
Alia malek tells familys history in syria in new book the. Jun 12, 2000 hafez al assad was born on october 6 1930 in the village of qurdaha in the coastal mountains of northwest syria. A journalists family says the assad regime assassinated her. Media in category rifaat alassad the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. He wanted to use his reliable defence platoons, where he had some 3,000 alawites of the murshidiyin sect in key positions. Syrian president bashar alassad took over the presidency in 2000 when his father, hafez alassad. Sep 16, 2015 first and foremost there is bashar alassads unwavering dedication to his familys spiritual traditions and religious faith.
The writer, from syrias first family, is cousin to syrian president bashar al assad. In daghers book, this is graphically described from grim personal. Syrian president bashar al assad will not remain in power much longer, his uncle has told the bbc. Recalled from london, after having spent less than. Rifaat alassad, commander of the defense corps in the 1980s. The home that was our country opens in a syrian village where her greatgrandfather was born a subject of the ottoman empire in 1889. The best books on syria recommended by nikolaos van dam. Hafez alassad share book recommendations with your. The assets of rifaat alassad, known as hamas butcher. His father hafez alassad ruled syria for 29 years until his death in 2000. Tlass, the main insider source for this account of the assad familys half. Syrian president cannot last much longer, assads uncle.
Media in category rifaat al assad the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. My interests include political theory, economic development in the third world and constitutional. To understand bashar alassad, you must understand that his father, hafez, president from 1971 to 2000, intended to found a dynasty. Hafez alassad, the former president and father of the current incumbent bashar, was born in 1930 to a poor family, and into the. Rifaat alassad is a career military man and a syrian politician. Picture taken in 1984 shows then syrian president hafez alassad right with his youngest brother rifaat left at a military ceremony in damascus. He studied political science and economics at damascus university and was later given an honorary phd in politics from the soviet academy of sciences.
For a comprehensive explanation as to why rifaat al assad may well be the beast leader who appears in revelation, read the first article entitled a more serious and pressing danger. The best books on syria five books expert recommendations. Dagher explains brutal syrian regimes in assad or we burn the. We now know that the government of syrian president bashar alassad didnt just allow this to happen. Alakhbar claims assad said in 2003 that all nations in the region should hand over their chemical weapons. Michele rigby assad spent a decade working as an undercover intelligence officer in the cias directorate of operations.
Sam, in this book, youre telling the story of the assad family, but. He was a member of the central commandment of the baath party, the commander of the elite defense troops of the syrian regime. He was widely expected to succeed his father had it not been for his own death in a car accident. He is also the son of rifaat al assad, the man accused of masterminding the killing of tens of thousands of. Though he studies political science and economics at damascus university, rifaat opts for a career in the military. After his death in 2000, his son bashar succeeded him the assads are originally from qardaha, just east of latakia in northwest syria. Recently declassified material back his claims that. Assad familys british property empire frozen news the. Sep 09, 20 bashars father and predecessor, hafez alassad, rose to the syrian presidency from an impoverished alawite family. The investigator in syria had made the drive perhaps a hundred times, always in the same battered truck, never with any cargo. Alassad was elected in 2000, reelected in 2007, unopposed each time. It tells the story of hafez alassad and his son bashar and their rule in.
London rifaat alassad, an uncle of president bashar alassad of syria, was named on tuesday in a european money laundering investigation. Pressure grows on britain to seize assad family assets. It surpasses anything i have read about the roman or babylonian or even pharaonic excesses. The conflict in syria has drawn in major global powers, some supporting and some opposing president bashar alassad. File photo of syrian president bashar al assad reuters tweet. Exiled uncle of bashar al assad to face trial in france. The former head of romanias secret service, ion mihai pacepa, wrote in a book that the late dictator nicolae ceaucescu referred to rifaat alassad as his agent in syria, performing services in exchange for large sums of money. Fiduciary is owned by the family trusts of peter isola, lawrence isola, and financial services minister albert isola. Being an ardent practitioner of the alawite religion like his father and forefathers before him, assad has drawn great strength from this mystical and tolerant branch of shia islam. May 20, 2017 bashar alassad, the despotic dictator grasping for power in syria, was never supposed to lead his country. Rifaat al assad has also stated that the assad family is still pretty much accepted by the syrian people. Jun 29, 2016 this month marks the 16th anniversary of the death of hafez alassad, a man who built the foundation of syrias civil war and still influences its course today. A childhood friend of the syrian presidents, tlass had fled syria five years earlier.
Hafez al assad, who was born into a poor family, joined the baath party as a student and later became a lieutenant in the syrian air force. The 42yearold fatheroftwo is the son of rifaat alassad, uncle of the current syrian president and brother of former leader hafez alassad. Hafez alassad 6 october 1930 10 june 2000 was a syrian statesman, politician and general who was president of syria from 1971 to 2000, prime minister from 1970 to 1971, regional secretary of the regional command of the syrian regional branch and secretary general of the national command of the baath party from 1971 to 2000. Mar, 2017 should malek run afoul of the assad regime, it could mean detention, or worse. The history behind bashar alassads rise to power and the civil war charles river editors on. After hafez al assad died in 2000, rifaat, from a villa in spain, tried to proclaim himself the legitimate heir to the presidency, but his bid went nowhere and power quickly passed to bashar al assad. Assads death at the age of 69 on june 10, 2000, removes from the scene a stubborn enemy of the jewish state and also a persistent foe of.
How hafez alassad divided the alawite sect syria deeply. In light of this appalling record, leschs account contains many passages of extreme gullibility and poor judgment. Proving he did not is rifaat al assad s burden to prove, and the french judges targeting rifaat alassad corrupt fortune need to call syrian oppositionists to testify. The alassad family are poor but wellrespected peasants. The fervor and singlemindedness of this deification probably have no precedent in history. An international legal ngo has raised concerns over delays in the case against rifaat al assad, the uncle of syrian president bashar al assad, who is. Alakhbar newspaper reported that assad said the nobel, which went to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, should have been mine. Based on unique and extraordinary access to syrias president bashar al asad, his circle, and his family, this book tells syrias inside story.
The assets of rifaat alassad, the uncle of syrian regime leader bashar alassad, have been frozen, according to the times. Opcw is currently working to destroy syrias chemical arsenal by mid2014. Assad roughly as he might a university colleague, deploying such adjectives as compassionate. Among the small objects arranged almost devotionally on the traders small table are fridge magnets, small modern icons, depicting scenes from the lives of the assad family. Lesch presents the essential account of this country and its enigmatic leader at a critical juncture in the history of the middle east. It is widely believed that ribals father, rifaat, tried to stage a coup against his brother hafiz, who was president from 1971 to 2000. He is the uncle of the current president bashar al assad. Assad relatives reveal activities in uk the national. Sep 07, 2011 there is something really strange about the children of hafez alassad. Already in the time of hafez al assad, his propensity for promoting his friends and.
Rifaat al assad, now back in damascus and officially still a vice. Hafez alassad, rifaat alassad, bashar alassad hafez alassad is born on 6 october 1930, in the village of alqurdaha, 200 km northwest of damascus, in the syrian province of latakia. The youngest brother of hafez al assad, the syrian dictator who passed power on to bashar al assad, rifaat was vice president of the country. Among other important materials, it contains the precious collection of manuscripts and rare books of damascuss venerable public library, al. Asad has ruled syria since hafez alassad became president of syria in 1971 and established an authoritarian to totalitarian regime under the control of the baath party. Investigators also cite statements by syrian former foreign minister abdel halim khaddam.
Apr 09, 2018 a journalists family says the assad regime assassinated her. As a commander of a specialist unit, rifaat al assad also is accused of overseeing the hama massacre of 1982, when the syrian army crushed a. Assad, hafiz al article about assad, hafiz al by the free. My name is theo ellis and i am a sophomore economics major. After this bushra, who is the presidents sister, moved to. Rifaat al assad, in his capacity as the brother of hafez, surely must have benefited from these offthe books oil sales. Rifaat al assad by stawart, delmar thomas c author 2012 paperback delmar thomas c stawart on. They are members of the minority alawite sect and belong to the kalbiyya tribe.
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