Ali Mamlouk

Ali Mamlouk (Arabic: علي مملوك‎) (born 19 February 1946) is a special security adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and is one of his trusted men.[1] Mamlouk is also head of the National Security Bureau of the Ba'ath Party.

Ali Mamlouk
علي مملوك
Director of the National Security Bureau
Assumed office
25 July 2012
Regional Secretary
Deputy		Bashar al-Assad
Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh
Regional Secretary
Deputy		Bashar al-Assad
Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh
Preceded byHisham Ikhtiar
Director of the General Security Directorate
In office
June 2005 – July 2010
Preceded byHisham Ikhtiar
Succeeded byZouheir Hamad
Personal details
Born (1946-02-19) 19 February 1946
Damascus, Syria
NationalitySyrian
Military service
Allegiance Syria
Branch/serviceSyrian Armed Forces
Rank Major General
CommandsGeneral Security Directorate (2005–2010)
National Security Bureau (2012–present)

Early life

Ali Mamluk was born in Damascus into a Circassian family on 19 February 1946.[2][3] There is another report giving his birth year as 1945.[4] His family is originally from İskenderun (Hatay in Turkey).[5]

Career

Mamlouk is said to be one of the founding officers of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence in the 1970s. He was deputy director there,[4][6] when in June 2005 President Bashar Assad appointed him head of the General Security Directorate.[7]

Mamlouk is said to be on good terms with all of Syria's intelligence agencies; the heads of the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and the Political Security Directorate were once his assistants.[5] In July 2012 following the Damascus security HQ bombing, it was reported that Mamlouk would become the head of the National Security Bureau with the rank of minister overseeing the entire security apparatus, and that former military intelligence chief Abdel-Fatah Qudsiyeh would become his assistant.[8][9]

Controversy

Mamlouk is one of many officials sanctioned by the European Union for their alleged actions against protesters participating in the Syrian revolution.[10][11][12] His agency had "repressed internal dissent, monitored individual citizens, and had been involved in the Syrian government's Siege of Daraa, where protesters were killed by Syrian security services".[5] In addition, he was added to the European Union's sanction list on 9 May 2011 on the grounds that he "involved in violence against demonstrators" during the war.[3] Swiss government also put him into sanction list in September 2011.[13] On 23 April 2012, the US government imposed sanctions on him, saying he had been responsible for human rights abuses, including the use of violence against civilians.[14]

In May 2015, concern mounted regarding Mamlouk's whereabouts and health after not having been seen for some time, leading to comparisons with Rustum Ghazaleh who recently met a violent and unclear death.[15]

In July 2015, Mamlouk visited Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Muscat in Oman and met with Saudi and GCC officials to discuss proposals for ending the Syrian Civil War.[16]

Criminal investigations

On 11 August 2012, Lebanon indicted Ali Mamlouk in absentia and former Lebanese Information Minister Michel Samaha for their alleged plots to assassinate Lebanese political and religious figures.[17] Lebanese judicial officials issued a warrant for Mamlouk's arrest on 4 February 2013.[18]

In November 2018, French prosecutors issued international arrest warrants for three senior Syrian intelligence and government officials: Ali Mamlouk, Abdel Salam Mahmoud and Jamil Hassan. The warrants bring charges including collusion in torture, forced disappearances, crimes against humanity and war crimes.[19]

References
  1. "Relations of Bashar Assad". France 24. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  2. "Who's who: Government: Ali Mamlouk". The Syrian Observer. 3 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  3. "List of natural and legal persons". Official Journal of the EU. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  4. "Who is Ali Mamlouk indicted by the Lebanese Judiciary?". LBC. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  5. "Bashar al-Assad's inner circle". BBC. 18 May 2011.
  6. Kaphie, Anud (18 July 2012). "Who's who in Bashar al-Assad's inner circle?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  7. Phares, Robert G. Rabil; foreword by Walid (2006). Syria, the United States, and the war on terror in the Middle East. Westport (Conn.): Praeger security international. p. 215. ISBN 9780275990152.
  8. New chief named in security reshuffle Oman Daily Observer, 25 July 2012
  9. "Rustom Ghazali Named Chief of Political Security". Naharnet. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  10. Syria's Assad 'reshuffles security chiefs' UPI, 21 October 2010
  11. List of 13 Syrian officials blacklisted by the EU Youkal Retrieved 21 July 2012 (Arabic)
  12. State funeral for three Syrian officials as Assad’s inner circle shrinks The Daily Star 21 July 2012
  13. "Ordinance instituting measures against Syria" (PDF). Federal Department of Economy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  14. Jeremy M. Sharp; Christopher M. Blanchard (6 September 2013). "Armed Conflict in Syria: Background and U.S. Response" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  15. "Syria denies rumors on National Security chief". TDS. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  16. Bowen, Andrew; McInnis, J. Matthew (17 August 2015). "The Saudi-Syrian Back Channel to End the War". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  17. Mroue, Bassem (4 February 2013). "Lebanon Issues Arrest Warrant for Syrian Official". ABC News. Beirut. AP. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  18. "Lebanon issues warrant for Syrian spy chief". Al Jazeera English. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  19. "France issues arrest warrants for senior Syrian officials“ Reuters November 2018
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