Position: Deputy Director of the National Security Bureau (2012–2024)
Association: The Assad Regime
Loyalty: Bashar al-Assad
Most Notorious Crimes:
- Oversaw Syria’s most powerful intelligence branches during critical periods of repression
- Directly involved in suppression of peaceful protests, arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances (2011–2012)
- Key architect of regime’s brutal security strategy during the uprising
Profile
Abdul Fattah Qudsiyeh was a senior Syrian intelligence official who rose through the ranks to hold leadership over multiple branches of the Mukhabarat (intelligence services) during some of Syria’s most repressive periods. Abdul Fattah Qudsiya was one of the most powerful and secretive figures in Syria’s security establishment, serving as a senior intelligence official under both Hafez and Bashar al-Assad. Born into an Alawite background in Hama, he built a career marked by unwavering loyalty to the Assad regime.
Qudsiyeh held command positions over the Air Force Intelligence Directorate (2005–2009) and the Military Intelligence Directorate (2009–2012), before being promoted to Deputy Director of the National Security Bureau in 2012. During the early Syrian uprising, he played a central role in orchestrating the crackdown on dissent, deploying intelligence services to conduct widespread surveillance, mass arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances, primarily targeting protestors in Damascus, Daraa, Homs, Hama, and other key opposition strongholds. His involvement in suppression tactics earned him international sanctions. He was a trusted figure in the regime’s inner security circle until the bureau’s dissolution following the regime’s fall in December 2024.
Qudsiya was known for his ruthlessness and absolute loyalty to Bashar al-Assad, often operating in close coordination with other top intelligence figures like Mohammed Nasif and Ali Mamlouk. Under his leadership, Military Intelligence was implicated in widespread human rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearances, and the use of secret detention centers where thousands were reportedly executed or abused.
His network of informants and operatives was central to the regime’s strategy of preemptively crushing dissent through infiltration and psychological terror. He was also a critical liaison with foreign backers, especially Iran and Hezbollah, and is believed to have helped coordinate the presence of foreign militias and intelligence operatives within Syria. Qudsiya’s role extended beyond domestic repression, he contributed to regional proxy warfare and counterinsurgency operations that fueled sectarian violence and deepened the humanitarian crisis.
Identity
Full Name: Abdul Fattah Qudsiyeh (عبد الفتاح سليمان قدسية)
Date of Birth: 1953
Place of Birth: Hama Governorate, Syria
Nationality: Syrian
Career Timeline
Pre-2005: Rose through Syrian Army and intelligence ranks, including service in the Special Tasks Unit and Republican Guard.
2005–2009: Director of Air Force Intelligence, responsible for intelligence operations within the air force and overseeing internal repression.
2009–2012: Director of Military Intelligence; succeeded Assef Shawkat after the National Security Bureau bombing.
2011–2012: Active role in brutal repression of early protests during the uprising, with intelligence agencies carrying out arrests, torture, and executions.
2012– 2024: Deputy Director of National Security Bureau under Ali Mamlouk, overseeing coordination of all intelligence agencies.
Crimes & Responsibilities
- Architect and Executor of State Repression: Managed intelligence branches responsible for mass surveillance, arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances.
- Suppression of Protests (2011–2012): Directed brutal crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations through coordinated arrests, intimidation, and torture, particularly in Homs, Hama, and Damascus.
- Head of Air Force Intelligence: Oversaw a branch notorious for systematic torture and the imprisonment of thousands of civilians.
- Head of Military Intelligence: Commanded widespread detention campaigns against activists, humanitarian workers, and suspected opposition members; military intelligence detention centers became synonymous with extrajudicial killings.
- Deputy Head of NSB: Worked alongside Ali Mamlouk to centralize the regime’s intelligence apparatus, ensuring loyalty and coordination between agencies.
- Regional Intelligence Coordination: Maintained operational ties with Hezbollah, Iran’s Quds Force, and later Russian military advisors, particularly in intelligence-sharing, counterinsurgency strategies, and extrajudicial operations targeting opposition groups.
Legal Proceedings & Sanctions
European Union (2011):
Sanctioned for involvement in violent repression of protesters
United States (2019):
Added to OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list under Syrian sanctions regime
United Kingdom (2019):
Asset freeze and travel ban under Syria Sanctions (EU Exit) Regulations
Other jurisdictions:
Listed in sanctions by Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Monaco (consistent with international efforts to sanction high-level intelligence figures
Current Status/Whereabouts
The National Security Bureau was dissolved following the Assad regime’s fall; his whereabouts are unknown.
