Explosive Revelations: Chafik Mesbah and Mohamed Mediene Implicated in Syrian War Crimes, Eligible For Prosecution under US, EU and ICC Law

As Syria’s post-Assad transition unfolds, documents leaked show evidence of how the Algerian intelligence trained and advised Syrian intelligence. Anouar Malek, a former intelligence officer and now journalist, interviewed by Hichem Aboud on December 09, 2024, has made explosive revelations about the direct involvement of senior Algerian intelligence officials in supporting Assad’s security apparatus and manipulating international monitoring efforts.In this video Anouar Malek, journalist and human rights expert, claims to possess documents from defectors of Syrian intelligence officers who provided him with documentation detailing the technical assistance and expertise used to sabotage the Syrian revolution. This involved creating fake competing groups, conducting false-flag operations, and labeling them as terrorists in order to justify counter-terrorism measures and repression.
Chafik Mesbah Provided Counter-Revolution Strategies to Syrian General Intelligence Directorate
Chafik Mesbah, an Algerian Intelligence Officer, and his boss, Mohamed Mediene, then the head of the Algerian Intelligence, provided Syrian intelligence with detailed strategies, including creating parallel fake resistance groups to sow division, orchestrating false-flag operations, and deliberately pushing for the radicalization and militarization of the revolution. The ultimate goal was to reframe the civilian uprising as a terrorist insurgency, thereby legitimizing its violent suppression under the pretext of counter-terrorism.In the leaked Syrian intelligence memo, Mesbah emphasized the importance of learning and implementing lessons from Algeria’s own experience. titled “The Algerian Experience and How to Benefit from It,” details a meeting between a Syrian General Intelligence Directorate envoy and Chafik Mesbah, a former senior Algerian intelligence officer. The memo highlights Mesbah’s advice on counter-revolutionary tactics based on Algeria’s handling of the 1992 Islamist insurgency. Mesbah emphasized reframing opposition movements as terrorist threats, exploiting global and U.S. fears of extremism to justify state violence. He detailed how Algeria successfully turned international attention away from its military coup by portraying it as a war against terrorism. The memo credits Algeria’s military for creating parallel opposition groups and orchestrating false-flag operations to delegitimize genuine protests. Mesbah argued that such methods, including fabricating extremist threats, were essential to suppress dissent and gain international support, and without which the Algerian coup would not have been successful.
Even more disturbing is Chafik Mesbah’s collaboration with the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate in November 2011, when its leader, Major General Zouheir Hamad, was under EU sanctions and officially listed in the European Union Journal for his responsibility in “use of violence across Syria and for intimidation and torture of protestors.” The evidence provided by the leaked memos in this article, shows that Chafik Mesbah advised and facilitated the Syrian regime in weaponizing counterterrorism legislation as a pretext to suppress peaceful opposition movements. Mesbah’s counsel directly contributed to the instrumentalization of anti-terror frameworks for the systematic criminalization of dissent, the fabrication of terrorism charges, and the orchestration of repressive measures against civilians, acts which helped in crimes against humanity.
Due to the gravity of our investigation findings and our claims, we reiterate for clarity: leaked intelligence memos establish that Chafik Mesbah advised the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate in November 2011, provided counsel to Major General Zouheir Hamad, who was already publicly sanctioned and listed in the EU Journal for crimes against humanity, including the use of violence, torture, and intimidation of protesters. Mesbah’s advice specifically focused on perfecting the regime’s counterterrorism framework to systematically suppress dissent while devising methods to better conceal the regime’s war crimes. This legal framework led to the systematic torture and execution of approximately 11,000 detainees, documented through 55,000 photographs, showing victims who suffered from starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation, and other forms of torture. The framework enabled the regime to prosecute peaceful activists and humanitarian workers under fabricated terrorism charges, accept confessions extracted through torture as evidence, bypass basic due process rights, and impose severe sentences including death penalties. The system also created a specialized Counterterrorism Court that provided judicial cover for these atrocities while maintaining the appearance of legality. By mid-2013, at least 50,000 people had been referred to this court, with approximately 35,000 being non-violent political detainees.
Chafik Mesbah, who currently serves as an advisor to the Algerian president, has thus actively assisted war criminals in refining and obscuring their crimes against humanity.

In 1993, in the midst of the civil war, Chafik Mesbah was Head of the International Relations and Defense Research Department at the Institut National d’Études de Stratégie Globale (INESG). In 1994, as a lieutenant-colonel, he served as security advisor to President Liamine Zeroual. In 1998, Chargé de mission at the Presidency of the Republic. In 2020, he was appointed Advisor to Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on the recommendation of General Mohamed Bouzit, head of the DDSE at the time.
Who is Chafik Mesbah ?
The revelations raise serious implications for Mohamed Chafik Mesbah, who currently serves as a Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s advisor, changing hats from the “Algerian Agency for International Cooperation for Solidarity and Development”, to “reserved matters”, to “political affairs and relations with youth, civil society, and political parties”. His alleged role in advising Syrian intelligence on counter-revolutionary tactics could potentially constitute complicity in war crimes under international law.
Mesbah’s background extends beyond his advisory role in Syria. In March 2019 Defense Ministry communiqué revealed that he was at the center of the power struggle between Mohamed Mediene and Ahmed Gaid Salah. The communiqué warned that “certain malicious parties are busy preparing a plan to undermine the credibility of the ANP (National People’s Army) and circumvent the legitimate demands of the people.” It specifically referenced a March 30, 2019 meeting of “known individuals, whose identities will be revealed in due time,” who allegedly planned to launch an aggressive media campaign across various platforms to convince public opinion that the Algerian people rejected the implementation of Article 102 of the Constitution. The military statement emphasized that “all proposals stemming from these suspicious meetings that go against constitutional legality or harm the ANP, which remains a red line, are totally unacceptable and will be faced by the ANP through all legal means.”. Arrested on the order of Ahmed Gaid Salah and detained by DCSA forces following a meeting at his residence. During interrogation, Mesbah admitted to working under General Toufik’s orders to develop technical documentation aimed at undermining system opponents and preparing post-Bouteflika scenarios.Ahmed Gaid Salah “last warning” Mohamed Mediene in April 2019, video here.

The warning included also Chafik Mesbah who was already architecturing how to “capture and flip” the Hirak.

The photos show the former head of the DRS, General Mediène, alias Toufik, in the company of unidentified personalities, as well as Liamine Zeroual and Athmane Tartag, at the Moretti state residence. These images confirm the accusations made by Ahmed Gaid Salah against Mohamed Mediene, accusing him of preparing a counter-revolution to the Hirak.
Chafik Mesbah Corrupt Business Dealings Become Secondary in Light of War Crimes Allegations
His business dealings have also raised eyebrows. Mesbah acquired a ranch under questionable circumstances at the former colonial farm Ex-Bugeaud (later renamed Bouchaoui), a transaction that many argue requires investigation by an independent judiciary. According to investigative journalist Abdou Semmar (alias Ilyas Aribi), Mesbah’s questionable acquisitions date back to the 1980s when, as a mere captain, he managed to secure a 1,000-square-meter plot in Hydra’s prestigious Paradou district through his connections with General Beloucif. There, he built a luxurious villa with a swimming pool, which he later rented to diplomats after being appointed to a UNESCO position in Paris.
In the late 2000s, Mesbah sold this villa for over 14 billion Algerian centimes, with significant portions allegedly undeclared to tax authorities. The property was subsequently resold to former FLN leader Amar Saidani for 21 billion centimes less than two years later. Most notably, Mesbah mysteriously acquired over 20 hectares of agricultural land from the former Burgeaud domain in Bouchaoui, where he constructed an extensive ranch under circumstances that remain unexplained.
Abdou Semmar (alias Ilyas Aribi) also revealed that Mesbah manages the business affairs of Lakhdar Brahimi and his two sons, Salah Brahimi, CEO of Grey Matter International, a consulting firm in Washington, DC, and Salem Brahimi, who heads several production companies in Paris. Salem’s notable works include the critically acclaimed feature film “Let Them Come”, starring Rachida Brakni and Amazigh Kateb, and produced by Michèle and Costa Gavras. The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival and received widespread recognition, winning the Jury Prize at the Dubai Film Festival, the New Director Award at Kosmorama in Norway, and the Golden Annab for Best Picture at the Festival du Film Méditerranéen of Annaba. It also earned a Jury Special Mention at the Oriental Film Festival of Geneva and accolades at the Carthage Film Festival. In addition, Salem directed “Abd-El-Kader”, a feature-length documentary blending animation and live action, which celebrates the life of Emir Abd-El-Kader, a 19th-century figure revered for pioneering interfaith dialogue and humanitarian law. Abd-El-Kader, celebrated in his time by Abraham Lincoln, Queen Victoria, and the Pope, famously saved 12,000 Christians in Damascus, acting in the name of Islam.
These activities, combined with his reputation as a political intriguer operating in Algeria’s shadow politics on behalf of General Toufik, paint a picture of a figure deeply embedded in operations in Algeria.
Chafik Mesbah and Mohamed Mediene: The Architect of Algerian and Syrian Counter-Revolutions Through Repressive Anti-Terror Legal Frameworks
The dark symmetry of Chafik Mesbah’s career reveals a systematic strategy of weaponizing counterterrorism to crush legitimate popular movements, first in Syria and later in Algeria. Acting under the orders of Mohamed Mediene, the former head of Algerian intelligence, Mesbah advised the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate in November 2011. At the time, its leader, Major General Zouheir Hamad, was publicly sanctioned by the European Union for crimes against humanity, including orchestrating violence, intimidation, and the torture of Syrian protesters. Mesbah’s counsel directly contributed to the Assad regime’s brutal suppression campaign, transforming a legitimate revolution into a fabricated terrorist threat. His strategy culminated in Law No. 19 of 2012, which rebranded peaceful dissent as terrorism and provided a legal pretext for mass detentions, executions, and atrocities against civilians, all under the guise of “fighting terrorism.”
Simultaneously, in Algeria, Mesbah deployed the same methods to counter the Hirak movement, a peaceful uprising demanding political reforms. He was accused by then-Vice Minister of Defense Ahmed Gaid Salah of orchestrating “an aggressive media campaign” aimed at delegitimizing public demands and undermining the National People’s Army (ANP). By June 2021, during Mesbah’s tenure as advisor to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, his influence culminated in the revision of Article 87 bis of Algeria’s penal code. This legal amendment criminalized calls to “change the system of governance by non-constitutional means,” rebranding peaceful opposition as terrorism. Like in Syria, this strategy transformed legitimate dissent into a fabricated security threat, allowing the regime to suppress activism while maintaining a façade of legality.
The calculated use of counterterror narratives in both countries reflects Mesbah’s consistent modus operandi: fabricating extremism to justify violent state suppression. Whether enabling Assad’s atrocities in Syria or undermining Algeria’s Hirak movement, Mesbah’s strategies demonstrate a cynical manipulation of counterterror frameworks to delegitimize popular movements and shield regimes from accountability.

Striking Resemblances Between Algerian (The ordinance n° 21-08 of June 8, 2021) and Syrian (Syrian Law No. 19 of 28 June 2012) Anti-Terrorism Laws, both architected and advised by Chafik Mesbah and Mohamed Mediene. Both laws Politicization: Both laws stretch terrorism to encompass political dissent, blurring lines between legitimate opposition and criminality. Overreach: Broad definitions allow governments to label almost any act as terrorism. Preemptive Punishments: Seizures, freezes, and travel bans occur before judicial review, undermining presumption of innocence. Chilling Effect: Media and protests are targeted indirectly, discouraging freedom of expression and assembly.
This is textbook State Terrorism. State Terrorism and the Counter-Revolution, as mentioned in Gianfranco Sanguinetti’s Du Terrorisme et de l’État, Sanguinetti asserts that state-sponsored terrorism is a defensive strategy, employed in response to social crises and the threat of revolution. This “defensive terrorism” seeks to present the state as the protector of the people against a common enemy, thereby justifying increased control and suppression of dissent. Chafik Mesbah’s advice in the Syrian Intelligence memo is textbook State Terrorism: the state employs terrorism both directly, through acts like the Piazza Fontana bombing, and indirectly, by manipulating existing extremist groups. The state infiltrates and manipulates these groups, directing their actions to serve its own ends. The goal is to instill fear and create a climate of suspicion, thereby justifying increased state control and silencing opposition. Sanguinetti argues that the only way to put an end to both terrorism and the Italian state is to expose the truth about the state’s role in orchestrating it. Sanguinetti explicitly says that truth and intellectuals terrorize the terrorist state, which Hichem Aboud, Amir Boukhors, Anouar Malek, and other independent media and authors such as Kamel Daoud, Boualem Sansal do. Others, in a way or another mix half-truth and misleading propaganda serving the military regime of algiers, and act as entrapment for genuine dissent such as: Ilyas Aribi (alias Aboud Semmar), Mohamed Larbi Zitout, Said Bensdira, Salim Salhi.
The faces of the military regime of Algiers: Chafik Mesbah with Salim Salhi, news director and presenter of the Al Magharibiya channel, supposedly an opposition channel, but in reality controlled by Chafik Mesbah.
As Algeria’s military regime scrambles to manage the fallout from the rapid shift in regional dynamics, including the collapse of Assad’s hold on Syria, its desperation becomes evident. The recent decision to send an emissary to Moscow and the abrupt shifts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ narrative, trying to negotiate with the current Syrian regime to stifle the intelligence leaks, after from staunchly labeling the Syrian revolutionaries as “terrorists” to a belated recalibration, speak to a regime in existential disarray.
Legal Implications and War Crimes
The Syrian revolutionaries said they are reviewing thousands of intelligence documents and will cooperate with international investigators regarding foreign involvement in documented human rights violations. As new evidence emerges from Syria’s post-Assad transition, the announced publication of lists identifying officials involved in systematic human rights violations carries significant legal implications. HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s pledge to “offer rewards to anyone who provides information about senior army and security officers involved in war crimes” may have far-reaching consequences for foreign officials who advised or assisted the former regime. This development is particularly relevant to Mesbah’s case, as his alleged role in advising Syrian intelligence on methods to “capture and flip” legitimate protests could potentially fall within the scope of complicity in crimes against humanity under international law.
Criminal charges have been unsealed against two former high-ranking Syrian officials, Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, in the Northern District of Illinois for war crimes. The indictment charges them with engaging in a conspiracy to commit cruel and inhuman treatment of civilian detainees, including U.S. citizens, during the Syrian civil war at the Mezzeh Military Airport near Damascus. Hassan, 72, formerly Director of Syrian Air Force Intelligence, and Mahmoud, 65, a Brigadier General who directed operations at Mezzeh Prison, allegedly oversaw systematic torture including whipping, electrocution, burning with acid, and hanging detainees by their wrists for prolonged periods. The charges represent a significant development in prosecuting war crimes, as it’s only the second case brought under the U.S. War Crimes statute. Both defendants remain at large with arrest warrants issued.
On December 9, 2024, criminal charges unsealed against two former Syrian Air Force Intelligence officers , Jamil Hassan and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, accused of war crimes under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The indictment alleges systematic torture, including beatings, electrocution, and acid burns, inflicted on detainees, including U.S. citizens, at the Mezzeh Military Airport prison in Damascus between 2012 and 2019. Both remain at large. You can read the full details in the U.S. Department of Justice website.
The revelations surrounding Mesbah expose not only his hand in Syria’s repression but also his enduring role in crafting Algeria’s oppressive apparatus. As the Syrian regime falls and the extent of foreign complicity in its atrocities comes to light, Mesbah’s involvement raises serious legal questions under international law. His role in developing strategies to “capture and flip” legitimate popular movements into fabricated terrorist threats, such actions constitute complicity in crimes against humanity. This is because providing technical expertise to transform civil protests into artificial security threats through false-flag operations and manufactured radicalization, may fall within the scope of persecution as defined by the Rome Statute. As more documentation emerges from the Syrian conflict, including Algerian military regime support and assistance to the Assad regime from the Presidential palace, but also from the Syrian intelligence apparatus (while Algeria tried to stifle them through Russian networks, hosting the Assad dignitaries in Algeria for protection, or trying to corrupt the current rebels), Mesbah’s alleged advisory role and his calculated manipulation of international counter-terrorism narratives merits serious examination by the international community.
How Could Chafik Mesbah and Other Algerian Military Regime War Criminals Be Prosecuted For War Crimes in Syria ?
To advance the prosecution of Chafik Mesbah and his accomplices, it is essential to establish their complicity in crimes against humanity. This involves demonstrating that they provided technical expertise and strategic guidance to transform legitimate civil protests into fabricated security threats through orchestrated false-flag operations. Additionally, their advisory roles in systematically persecuting and criminalizing genuine opposition groups must be clearly documented. Leaked intelligence memos establish that Chafik Mesbah advised the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate in November 2011, provided counsel to Major General Zouheir Hamad, who was already publicly sanctioned and listed in the EU Journal for crimes against humanity, including the use of violence, torture, and intimidation of protesters. Mesbah’s advice specifically focused on perfecting the regime’s counterterrorism framework to systematically suppress dissent while devising methods to better conceal the regime’s war crimes.
Chafik Mesbah, who currently serves as an advisor to the Algerian president, has thus actively assisted war criminals in refining and obscuring their crimes against humanity.
Additionally, the Intelligence cooperation mentioned in the leaked documents, happened under the leadership of Mohamed Mediene. And therefore Mohamed Mediene is also responsible for war crimes in Syria. Intelligence training given by the algerian intellgience to the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate aided the Assad regime’s systematic torture and detention programs, as well as contributing to the deliberate mischaracterization of civilian targets as military objectives. These actions have resulted in widespread suffering and the loss of innocent lives, further strengthening the case for their prosecution.
In The United States
Following the recent charges against Syrian officials Hassan and Mahmoud in 2024, similar criminal proceedings can now be pursued against Mohamed Mediene and Chafik Mesbah under U.S. war crimes laws. The law allows cases to be brought when either the perpetrator or victim is American, and importantly, there is no time limit for prosecuting war crimes. Two main groups can bring claims: Syrian-Americans who suffered under Syrian intelligence during Chafik Mesbah’s/Mohamed Mediene’s advisory period, and Algerian-Americans who experienced torture under the counterterrorism system that Chafik Mesbah and Mohamed Mediene helped create.
To build a successful case, prosecutors would need to prove three main points: first, that Mesbah actively helped Syria’s torture system by providing expert advice (see leaked Syrian Intelligence Memos we published), particularly on how to turn legitimate protests into false security threats; second, that Mediene was in charge of intelligence cooperation with Syrian security forces (which he was in 2011); and third, that their actions led to the torture or persecution of people who are now U.S. citizens. Evidence can come from several sources: records showing intelligence cooperation between Algeria and Syria, testimonies from victims, leaked documents showing Mesbah advised Syrian intelligence in November 2011, and documentation of human rights violations against Americans.
International Criminal Court Jurisdiction
The International Criminal Court (ICC) could take up cases against Mesbah and Mediene through two main routes. First, the United Nations Security Council could refer the case to the ICC because the crimes happened in Syria. Second, because many Syrians were forced to flee to Jordan (which is a member of the ICC), the court could claim jurisdiction through these effects on Jordan’s territory. The most realistic path forward would be for multiple ICC member countries, especially Jordan and European nations, to jointly refer the case to the ICC prosecutor. This joint referral approach is particularly important because Russia would likely block any direct UN Security Council referral.
Swiss Federal Criminal Jurisdiction
Switzerland’s laws allow for the prosecution of war criminals even if their crimes were committed in other countries. This is particularly relevant because Swiss courts have already dealt with similar cases – they previously took action against Khaled Nezzar, a former Algerian official. Human rights organizations and victims’ groups can file criminal complaints with Swiss prosecutors. This becomes even more powerful when Swiss banks or companies were involved in transactions with the Syrian regime, as it creates an additional connection to Switzerland’s legal system.
European Universal Jurisdiction
Germany: Under the Völkerstrafgesetzbuch (Code of Crimes against International Law)
France: Via Article 689-11 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Belgium: Through amended universal jurisdiction provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure
Spain: Under Article 23.4 of the Organic Law on Judicial Power.
As Syria’s post-Assad transition unfolds and new evidence emerges, the Algerian military regime’s complicity in the systematic torture program is under meticulous legal scrutiny. The case of Chafik Mesbah and Mohamed Mediene’s involvement represents a turning point in international justice, demonstrating that architects of crimes against humanity can no longer hide behind national borders under the false banner of “national sovereignty” or “fighting terrorism.” Their cooperation with Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, brought to light through leaked memos, demonstrates a strategic role in designing and implementing Syria’s counterterrorism framework, which led to the torture and death of thousands, opens multiple avenues for prosecution under U.S., European, and international law. With recent precedents set by the indictment of two Syrian officials in U.S. courts and growing documentary evidence from intelligence memo leaks, the path to accountability becomes clearer. For the 11,000 documented victims of Syria’s torture apparatus and their families, these legal proceedings offer not just hope for justice, but a powerful reminder that those who engineer state terrorism, whether from Damascus or Algiers, may ultimately face consequences for their actions, as was the case for the East German Stasi, Romanian Securitate, Ceaușescu’s regime, Pinochet’s dictatorship, and others who once thought themselves untouchable. No one can be “Rabb Dzayer” or “Jinn”.

By Abderrahmane Fares.