Syrian general receives protection in Lebanon, BBC and NPR find

A former Syrian general wanted for crimes against humanity is receiving protection and financial support from U.S. and Lebanese authorities while living in Lebanon, a joint BBC and NPR investigation has found. Bassam al-Hassan, a former senior adviser to President Bashar al-Assad who oversaw Syria’s chemical weapons program, is under U.S. sanctions.

The arrangement involves the FBI and other U.S. and Lebanese authorities, according to the investigation. A record of a meeting with Hassan, FBI and CIA representatives, and Lebanese security officials shows he was offered “residency,” “protection” and help with his “living needs” in exchange for information, primarily about American journalist Austin Tice. Sources familiar with the arrangement said Hassan receives money through an intermediary.

Tice was abducted in Syria in 2012. The BBC and NPR previously reported that his abduction was planned and that Hassan was in the chain of command. Officials from two branches of Syria’s new government told the outlets they want Hassan returned for trial, but said U.S. authorities want him to remain in Lebanon and that Damascus can do little about it.

“If what you are saying is true, the fact that our tax dollars are being used to furnish a comfortable life for someone associated with the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians, who claims to have had Austin Tice executed, is offensive,” said Phil Elwood, a spokesperson for the Tice family. “This is nothing less than aiding and abetting the escape of a wanted war criminal. The Syrians deserve justice, and he should be returned to stand trial.”

Hassan told U.S. investigators last year that Tice had been executed on Assad’s orders, the BBC reported. People familiar with the investigation have questioned his account. A search of a site Hassan identified as a possible location for Tice’s remains found nothing, according to sources familiar with it. Two sources told the BBC that U.S. authorities stopped digging before the search was complete, possibly because of security concerns.

Tice’s mother, Debra, traveled to Lebanon in May 2025 after an FBI official told her Hassan was in Beirut, but she was unable to meet him, NPR reported. “I want to know about my son,” she told the outlets.

After Assad’s government collapsed in December 2024, Hassan initially fled to Iran, the outlets reported. A Syrian businessman told the BBC that negotiations involving the United States, Lebanon and Iran brought him to Lebanon. The businessman said Hassan was also valuable for what he knew about Syria’s chemical weapons program and its military relationship with Iran.

Two other former regime members connected to the Tice case described receiving U.S. payments or assistance abroad. One said he had received FBI money repeatedly and that it was “not in my interest to share all the information all at once” because that could prolong the payments. Another claimed to be living in Lebanon under U.S. “patronage.” A former Lebanese intelligence official confirmed that U.S.-Lebanese intelligence arrangements and payments occur, but said he knew of none involving Tice.

The FBI declined to comment, pointing instead to an earlier statement that its focus remained on establishing the facts of Tice’s case and securing his return. The CIA and Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security did not respond to requests for comment.