Former Assad security chief traced to Moscow
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Hussam Luka, a former senior Syrian intelligence official accused of overseeing torture and other abuses under Bashar al-Assad, has been traced to Moscow after fleeing Syria following the fall of Assad’s government in December 2024, The Telegraph reported on Saturday.
Luka, who headed Syria’s General Security Directorate, was known as “The Spider” for his extensive network of informants and was linked to some of the country’s most notorious detention facilities.
According to the BBC and reported by The Telegraph, fighters who entered Luka’s abandoned residence in Damascus found a notebook containing 155 handwritten contacts. One of the contacts reportedly helped investigators identify a Russian phone number linked to Luka, leading to his location in a Moscow suburb.
Luka previously served as a security commander in Homs during the early years of the Syrian conflict. Syrian activists accused him of selecting targets for airstrikes that killed 28 people, including 17 children, in the al-Waer neighborhood during Eid al-Adha in 2015.
He later rose to head the General Security Directorate and oversee security and detention policies, including at Saydnaya prison, where thousands of detainees disappeared under Assad’s rule.
Meanwhile, Syrian authorities have begun prosecuting former officials accused of serious crimes committed during the conflict.
Lebanon recently detained former Syrian army officer Adel Issa on a Damascus warrant accusing him of killing and crimes against humanity. Syria has requested his extradition.