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Syrian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) Branch 251 (Arabic: إدارة المخابرات العامة الفرع الداخلي (251)), also known as internal branch or Al-Khatib branch, is the unit of the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate concerned with internal security. It has been responsible for security in the Damascus region. Branch 251 operates Al-Khatib prison, a detention and torture center located in the Muhajreen neighborhood in central Damascus.

Anwar Raslan, the former Syrian colonel who was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison in Germany, commanded a unit in Branch 251.

United States Department of Treasury Sanctions

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria identified Branch 251 and Al-Khatib prison as a facility controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate where death in detention and torture have occurred. Branch 251 was designated pursuant to Executive Order 13572 (E.O. 13572), which blocks property of certain properties with respect to Human Rights Abuses in Syria, as being owned or controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate. The head of Branch 251, Ahmed Al-Dib, was designated pursuant to E.O. 13572 for being a senior official of the Syrian GID and subject to US Treasury sanctions.

List of heads

• Mohammed Nasif Kheirbek (1963–1999)
• Bahjat Suleiman (1999–June 2005)
• Fouad Nasif Kheirbek (June 2005–2011)
• Tawfiq Younes (2011–2016), the European Union sanctioned him for "being involved in violence against the civilian population during the Syrian uprisings".
• Ahmed Al-Dib (2016–8 December 2024), sanctioned by the United States Treasury for leading Syrian General Intelligence Directorate Branch 251, has been implicated in reports of arbitrary detention and torture of detainees since at least 2011.

References

1. "Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria - Report on Khateeb Branch- State Security". www.vdc-sy.info. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
2. "Torture and death: Life in al-Khateeb detention center". Syria Direct. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
3. "'Physical evidence' of killings presented at Syrian officials' trial in Germany". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
4. "Two Syrian Intelligence Officers Charged with Committing Crimes Against Humanity". The Syrian Observer. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
5. "German court to issue verdict against former Syrian intelligence officer". the Guardian. 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
6. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
7. Zisser, Eyal (September 1995). "The Succession Struggle in Damascus". The Middle East Quarterly. 2 (3): 57–64. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
8. Bar, Shmuel (2006). "Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview" (PDF). Comparative Strategy. 25 (5): 425. doi:10.1080/01495930601105412. S2CID 154739379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
9. "SyriaComment.com". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
10. 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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. "SyriaComment.com". Retrieved 5 November 2014.
12. "Tawfiq Younes". Pro Justice. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
13. "Joint Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION concerning restrictive measures in view of the situation in Syria and repealing Regulation (EU) No 442/2011". EuroLex. 52011PC0887. 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
14. ^ "Treasury Sanctions Syrian Regime Prisons, Officials, and Syrian Armed Group". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 2022-07-23.

• Syrian intelligence agencies