Rustum Ghazaleh ( ar, رستم غزالة) also transl. from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
as Rostom Ghazale, Rustom Ghazalah, Rustom Ghazali; (3 May 1953 – 24 April 2015) was a Syrian military and intelligence officer.
Early life
Ghazaleh was born into a
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
family in
Qarfa
Qarfa ( ar, قرفــا, also spelled Garfa or Kurfa) is a village in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Izra' District of the Daraa Governorate. Nearby localities include al-Shaykh Maskin to the northwest, Izra to the northeast, M ...
village in
Daraa Governorate
Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Qune ...
on 3 May 1953.
Career
Ghazaleh joined the
Syrian Arab Army
The Syrian Army, officially the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ( ar, الْجَيْشُ الْعَرَبيُّ السُّورِيُّ, al-Jayš al-ʿArabī as-Sūrī), is the army, land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military ...
as a
first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
and platoon commander of a
mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force).
As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is di ...
(
BMP-1
The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...
) unit in 1973, just in time for the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
but did not see frontline combat. He later trained in artillery and military intelligence in
the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. He was later an artillery spotter and commander of a mechanized battalion during the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
. He was appointed by Syrian
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
in December 2002 to succeed the late
Ghazi Kanaan
Ghazi Kanaan ( ar, غازي كنعان; 1942 – 12 October 2005), also known as Abu Yo'roub, was Syria's interior minister from 2004 to 2005, and long-time head of Syria's security apparatus in Lebanon. His violent death during an investigat ...
as head of Syrian military intelligence in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
He frequently traveled to the
Bekaa valley
The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
where he had a residence and his headquarters in Anjar, and has been accused of involvement in the Bekaa drug trade and other smuggling ventures.
In early 2005, the killing of
Rafik Hariri
Rafik is the given name of:
*Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
*Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National
*Rafik Deg ...
led to intense pressure on Syria. Ghazale's and Kanaan's foreign assets were frozen by the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for their role in the alleged occupation of Lebanon and other suspected irregularities. Syria eventually withdrew its 15,000 man strong
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
. Ghazaleh relocated to Syria. However, some Lebanese and foreign observers alleged that Syria keeps interfering with Lebanese politics through parts of its intelligence apparatus left behind in the country; Syria denies the charges. Kanaan later allegedly committed suicide.
In September 2005, Ghazaleh was questioned on
the Hariri assassination by
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
investigator
Detlev Mehlis
Detlev Mehlis (born 1949) is the Senior Public Prosecutor in the Office of the Attorney General in Berlin. He has 30 years of prosecutorial experience and has led numerous investigations into serious, complex transnational crimes. He has been a ...
. In December 2005, former Syrian vice president
Abdul Halim Khaddam
Abdul Halim Khaddam ( ; ar, عبد الحليم خدام; 15 September 1932 – 31 March 2020) was a Syrian politician who was Vice President of Syria and "High Commissioner" to Lebanon from 1984 to 2005. He was long known as a loyalist of Hafez ...
accused Ghazaleh of political corruption, dictatorial rule in Lebanon and of threatening Hariri prior to his death.
After the withdrawal from Lebanon little was heard of him. However, at the beginning of the protests in
Daraa
Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...
, Ghazaleh was sent by Bashar al-Assad to assure locals of the president's good intentions. He reportedly told them: "We have released the children" – a reference to several teenagers who were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti inspired by the events in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. In May 2011,
the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
said Ghazaleh was head of military intelligence in Damascus countryside (Rif Dimashq) governorate, which borders Daraa governorate, and was involved in the repression of dissent in the region. He is considered part of Assad's inner circle.
On 24 July 2012, Ghazaleh was appointed chief of political security.
He is allegedly opposed to the prominent role played by Hezbollah and other foreign fighters (in particular Iranians) in the
Syrian civil war, a stance which led to him being attacked by the bodyguards of the pro-Iranian Lt. Gen
Rafiq Shahadah
Rafiq Shahadah ( ar, رفيق شحادة, born 1956) is a Syrian Army major general. He was head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and the chief of staff of the Syrian Army's operations in Eastern Syria.
Early life
Shahadah was born in J ...
in early 2015.
Death
Ghazaleh was severely beaten by the bodyguards of Lt. Gen. Rafiq Shahadah over a disagreement the two had regarding Iranian involvement in the
2015 Southern Syria offensive
The 2015 Southern Syria offensive, code-named "Operation Martyrs of Quneitra", was an offensive launched in southern Syria during the Syrian Civil War by the Syrian Arab Army, Hezbollah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces. Government ...
, with news emerging two months later that Ghazaleh had died on 24 April 2015 after complications from a severe head wound which resulted in him having been clinically dead for several weeks prior.
A figure close to Syrian government officials claimed the argument had been over fuel smuggling, while a Lebanese journalist suspected that Ghazaleh was "gotten rid of" due to the role he could have played in the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsib ...
.
Saad Hariri
Saad El-Din Rafik Al-Hariri ( ar, سعد الدين رفيق الحريري, translit=Saʿd ad-Dīn Rafīq al-Ḥarīrī; born 18 April 1970) is a Lebanese-Saudi politician who served as the prime minister of Lebanon from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 t ...
stated that Ghazaleh had contacted him the day before he was beaten, wanting to appear on television to announce details regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, while an analyst claimed Ghazaleh had seen the end was near for the Syrian government and wanted to defect. Syrian government media failed to report Ghazaleh's death.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazaleh, Rustum
1953 births
2015 deaths
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region politicians
Directors of intelligence agencies
People from Izra District
People of the Lebanese Civil War
People of the Syrian civil war
Syrian expatriates in the Soviet Union
Syrian generals
Syrian Sunni Muslims