Syrian intelligence tsar takes Assad secrets to the grave

Few in Lebanon or Syria will grieve the reported passing of Rustom Ghazaleh, a top Syrian intelligence official. But many will mourn the secrets they believe died with him.

Mr Ghazaleh headed Damascus's political intelligence bureau - before being sacked last month. But he was notorious for his role as Syria's last military intelligence chief for Lebanon in an era when the Assad regime effectively ran its smaller neighbour.

In addition to deep knowledge of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, many in the region believe he also played a role in - or had information about - the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, and that this may have been the reason for his death.

The shadowy operative's rumoured demise is symptomatic of the mystery surrounding Syria's inner circle.

"It is so opaque, that people see reports about people like Ghazaleh as a chance to try to figure out what it [the regime] is doing," said Nabil Boumonsef, a Lebanese analyst and journalist at al-Nahar. "We have no proof . . . It's impossible to trust regime loyalists or opposition sources. We don't have any facts to verify."

Mr Ghazaleh's death has sparked a rumour frenzy in Lebanon. To many Lebanese, his name invokes memories of the thousands who were tortured, arrested, killed or went missing during Syria's military presence in their country.

"You can't feel pleasure in someone's death, but without exaggeration, I felt a kind of relief," said Ahmad Fatfat, a member of parliament from Hariri's Future party. "He was the ugly hand of Syria that once spread over Lebanon."

There has been lurid speculation about the cause of death, ranging from natural causes to assassination by a needle filled with air and punched into an intravenous tube as he lay in hospital in a coma.

Despite his long role in Mr Assad's security apparatus, Mr Ghazaleh's death is unlikely to have an impact on Syria's four-year civil war. Born in the southern province of Deraa, the first area to see protests against President's Assad rule in 2011, Mr Ghazaleh's popular support base was small.

But a number of puzzling media reports over recent months have given rise to speculation of regime involvement.

Last year, a video on YouTube appeared to show Syrian fighters blowing up Mr Ghazaleh's villa. A voiceover claims this was done on his orders to prevent its sacking by advancing rebel forces. Some Syrian opposition members say it was a way for him to prevent Iran and Lebanese ally Hizbollah using it as a base, suggesting he opposed their growing military presence in his country.

In March Mr Ghazaleh was assaulted by the security detail of another intelligence chief, Rafik Shehadeh. The reason for the attack is unclear but there is speculation that it was also over Hizbollah's role. The intelligence chief was hospitalised for weeks and some say this was the cause of his death.

"He was already sick, took a real beating from Shehadeh and was in a coma for almost two months until he died," said Younes Audi, a Lebanese security analyst with close ties to Damascus. "That's the whole story."<

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However, Mr Ghazaleh's possible role in the killing of Mr Hariri leads many to believe that there may be another explanation. Other senior Syrian officials who may have been involved in the assassination have died in murky circumstances. Mr Ghazaleh's predecessor in Lebanon, Ghazi Kanaan, was said by the Syrian government to have committed suicide, but most Syrians and Lebanese are sceptical and joke that he was the only man to commit suicide with more than one gunshot to the head. Another, General Jamea Jamea, was killed in battle in eastern Syria last year. Mr Ghazaleh was the top Syrian official who would have had knowledge of the operation.

The assassination is the subject of an international tribunal, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which for years focused on the alleged involvement of Hizbollah. But it has recently begun to revisit original suspicions of Syrian complicity.

"Today they are clearly shifting direction and perhaps there was a fear that intelligence officials, someone like Ghazaleh, would be asked to appear before the tribunal," said Michael Young, opinion editor of Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper. "[Now] it will be much more difficult to put a case together," he added: "You can't indict dead people."

Mr Hariri's son and former prime minister Saad Hariri said Mr Ghazaleh was beaten the day after making contact with Lebanese authorities. "Rustom Ghazaleh called us before his death and wanted to appear on television and announce something we don't know," he said.

That has led some to speculate that Mr Ghazaleh planned to defect. Mr Boumonsef points to the recent rebel advances in northern and southern Syria. "People love rumours and don't notice the big picture: the regime is unravelling from within."

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