The Treasury Department has sanctioned a major security force for
participating in Assad's bloody crackdown on the opposition. The Syrian
Political Security Directorate, under the authority of the Interior
Ministry, was determined to have violated the human rights of protesters
over the last 10 weeks.
"Today's action builds on the administration's efforts to pressure Assad
and his regime to end the use of wanton violence and begin transitioning to
a system that ensures the universal rights of the Syrian people," Treasury
Undersecretary David Cohen said on June 29.
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Treasury cited a series of attacks by the security directorate on Syrian
civilians. In March, the directorate opened fire on protesters in the
southern city of Dera after Friday prayers. During the following month,
Syrian officers opened fire on a crowd in Nawa, in which four people were
killed and eight injured.
Another Syrian sanctioned was identified as Syrian Air Force
Intelligence commander Maj. Gen. Jamil Hassan. Treasury cited other Assad
commanders as being involved in the crackdown, including Deputy Chief of
Staff Gen. Assaf Chawkat, Syrian National Security Bureau Hisham Ikhtiyar
and Rustum Ghazali, a senior member of Syrian Military Intelligence.
The Iranian police were also said to have been helping the Assad regime.
Treasury referred to Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and its deputy commander,
Ahmad-Reza Radan.
"We are exposing further Iran's provision of its military and security
forces to support the Syrian government’s ongoing violence and repression of
the Syrian people," Cohen said.
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