President Bashar Al-Assad Name Fahd al-Freij Preceded by Dawoud Rajiha | Preceded by Abdullah al-Dardari Preceded by Dawoud Rajiha Service/branch Syrian Army | |
 | ||
Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab
Wael Nader al-Halqi Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab
Wael Nader al-Halqi | ||
Gen fahd jassem al freij february 4 2013 video preview of the interview
Fahd Jassem al-Freij (Arabic: فهد جاسم الفريج) (born 17 January 1950) is the Minister of Defense of Syria, taking office on 18 July 2012.
Contents
- Gen fahd jassem al freij february 4 2013 video preview of the interview
- Syria syrian defense minister general fahd jassem al freij visited deir ez zor today another vid
- Early life and education
- Career
- Accusations of crimes against humanity
- References
Syria syrian defense minister general fahd jassem al freij visited deir ez zor today another vid
Early life and education
Freij was born in Hama in a Sunni Arab tribe on 17 January 1950. He joined the Syrian Arab Army in 1968, and graduated as an armoured corps lieutenant from the Homs Military Academy in 1971.
Freij attended different courses and a higher military education:
Career
On 8 August 2011, Freij was appointed Chief of Staff of the Syrian Arab Army during the Syrian civil war. In December 2011, defected Syrian Army officers reported that prior to his appointment of Chief of Staff, al-Freij commanded the Syrian Army Special Forces in the regions of Daraa, Idlib and Hama during the Syrian uprising.
However, on 18 July 2012, after Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha was assassinated in the 2012 Damascus bombing, Freij was appointed by Bashar al-Assad to succeed Rajiha. He was also named as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces.
Accusations of crimes against humanity
A report released by Amnesty International on February 7, 2017, alleges that Freij is complicit in the killings of up to 13,000 individuals tried and convicted in secret military courts. Specifically, the report alleges that Freij's signature--or, alternatively, that of the Syrian Chief of the General Staff--was one of two needed for a death warrant issued by the secret courts to be implemented, and also that he witnessed the executions of those condemned by the military courts on several occasions.