BBC
t aced
fo me
Sy ia
i tellige ce
chief
Hussam
Luka,
accused
of
i volveme t
i
the
2015
“Child e ‘s
Massac e”
a d
othe
abuses,
to
Moscow.
Fo me
Sy ia
i tellige ce
chief
Hussam
Luka,
o e
of
the
most
powe ful
secu ity
officials
u de
ousted
p eside t
Basha
al-Assad,
has
bee
t aced
to
Moscow
afte
the
BBC
followed
a
t ail
of
co tacts
fou d
i
his
aba do ed
Damascus
apa tme t.Luka,
who
was
sa ctio ed
by
the
UK,
US
a d
Eu opea
U io ,
has
bee
accused
of
i volveme t
i
to tu e,
dete tio
a d
othe
abuses
du i g
Assad’s
ule.
The
BBC
said
Sy ia’s
ew
autho ities
have
issued
a
wa a t
fo
him
ove
allegatio s
i cludi g
p emeditated
mu de
a d
to tu e.Afte
Assad
was
ove th ow
i
Decembe
2024,
Luka
disappea ed.
The
BBC
late
fou d
his
aba do ed
luxu y
apa tme t
i
Damascus,
whe e
photog aphs
of
Luka
with
Assad,
awa ds
a d
othe
pe so al
belo gi gs
emai ed
behi d.Amo g
the
items
was
a
ha dw itte
otebook
co tai i g
155
pho e
umbe s
belo gi g
to
people
a gi g
f om
docto s
a d
milita y
officials
to
elatives
a d
othe
co tacts.
The
BBC
said
it
edacted
ide tifyi g
i fo matio
f om
the
otebook.Repo te s
t ied
co tacti g
the
umbe s,
eve tually
establishi g
li ks
to
Luka’s
fo me
apa tme t
gua d
a d
a
fo me
pe so al
bodygua d.
The
bodygua d
said
Luka
had
p omised
to
emai
i
Damascus
as
ebels
adva ced
o
the
capital,
but
disappea ed
du i g
the
fi al
hou s
of
Assad’s
gove me t
afte
allegedly
taki g
a
la ge
amou t
of
mo ey
f om
a
office
safe.
The
t ail
eve tually
led
to
a
fo me
co tact
i
Leba o ,
who
p ovided
a
Russia
telepho e
umbe
believed
to
belo g
to
Luka.The
BBC
the
a a ged
fo
the
co tact
to
call
the
pe so
behi d
the
Russia
umbe .
The
ma
a swe ed
questio s
about
Luka’s
past
that,
acco di g
to
the
BBC,
o ly
someo e
with
detailed
k owledge
of
his
life
would
likely
have
bee
able
to
a swe .The
voice
late
ide tified
itself
as
Luka’s.
Whe
the
BBC
asked
him
about
allegatio s
of
massac es
a d
to tu e,
he
decli ed
to
discuss
them,
sayi g
he
could
ot
take
the
isk
of
speaki g
f om
his
cu e t
positio .
He
also
efused
to
say
whethe
Russia
was
p eve ti g
him
f om
talki g.Usi g
a othe
umbe
li ked
to
Luka,
the
BBC
said
it
was
able
to
locate
him
i
two
subu ba
a eas
a ou d
Moscow.Whe
epo te s
called
agai ,
the
same
voice
a swe ed
but
immediately
hu g
up
afte
bei g
told
the
BBC
was
calli g.
He
also
did
ot
espo d
to
a
WhatsApp
message
seeki g
his
espo se
to
the
allegatio s.The
Russia
gove me t
did
ot
espo d
to
the
BBC’s
questio s
about
whethe
Luka
was
i
Moscow
o
whethe
it
would
co side
a
ext aditio
equest.
Why
Luka
matte s
Why
Luka
matte s
Luka
ose
th ough
Assad’s
i tellige ce
appa atus
du i g
the
Sy ia
civil
wa
a d
eve tually
headed
the
Ge e al
Secu ity
Di ecto ate,
o e
of
the
egime’s
most
powe ful
i tellige ce
age cies.The
BBC
epo ted
that
he
was
k ow
as,
“The
Spide ”,
because
of
the
exte sive
etwo k
of
i fo ma ts
a d
co tacts
he
allegedly
mai tai ed.His
eco d
i
Homs
has
d aw
pa ticula
sc uti y.
Reside ts
told
the
BBC
that
his
ame
a d
pho e
umbe
had
bee
ci culated
du i g
the
siege
of
ebel-held
pa ts
of
the
city,
with
people
calli g
fo
help
to
escape.
Some
we e
epo tedly
allowed
to
leave,
while
othe s
we e
eve
hea d
f om
agai .Luka
has
also
bee
accused
of
i volveme t
i
the
2015
Eid
massac e
i
Homs
also
k ow
as
the
‘Child e ‘s
Massac e’.
The
i cide t
claimed
the
lives
of
28
people,
i cludi g
17
child e
a d
fou
wome ,
acco di g
to
the
Sy ia
Netwo k
fo
Huma
Rights.
The
BBC
said
Sy ia
activist
a d
oppositio
sou ces
at
the
time
li ked
Luka
to
the
selectio
of
ta gets.As
head
of
the
Ge e al
Secu ity
Di ecto ate,
Luka
also
had
st ategic
co t ol
ove
dete tio
policies
a d
pe so el
mo ito i g
commu icatio s
i volvi g
Sed aya
p iso ,
the
oto ious
facility
whe e
ma y
detai ees
disappea ed.Sy ia’s
Atto ey
Ge e al
Hassa
al-Tu ba
told
the
BBC
that
autho ities
had
lau ched
a
case
agai st
Luka
allegi g
p emeditated
mu de ,
to tu e
a d
deaths
esulti g
f om
to tu e.He
said
a
domestic
a est
wa a t
had
bee
issued
a d
autho ities
we e
wo ki g
to
ci culate
it
i te atio ally
a d
locate
Luka
a d
othe
fo me
egime
officials.But
his
appa e t
p ese ce
i
Russia
could
make
that
difficult.
Russia
was
o e
of
Assad’s
p i cipal
i te atio al
backe s,
a d
Assad
himself
fled
the e
afte
his
gove me t
collapsed.
