Rustum Ghazali

Rustum Ghazali (also transl. from Arabic as Rostom Ghazaleh, Rustom Ghazale, etc) is a Syrian politician and military officer.

Born in 1953.Ghazali was appointed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2002 to succeed Gen. Ghazi Kanaan as head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon. He frequently traveled to the Bekaa valley where he had a residence and his headquarters in Anjar, and has been accused of involvement in the Bekaa drug trade and other smuggling ventures.

In early 2005, the killing of Rafiq al-Hariri led to intense pressure on Syria. Ghazali's and Kanaan's foreign assets were frozen by the United States for their role in the alleged occupation of Lebanon and other suspected irregularities. Syria eventually withdrew its 15,000 man strong army. Ghazali relocated to Syria. However, some Lebanese and foreign observers allege that Syria keeps interfering with Lebanese politics through parts of its intelligence apparatus left behind in the country; Syria denies the charges. Kanaan later committed suicide.

In September 2005, Ghazali was questioned on the Rafiq al-Hariri bombing by United Nations investigator Detlev Mehlis. In December 2005, former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam accused Ghazali of political corruption, dictatorial rule in Lebanon and of threatening al-Hariri prior to his death. After the withdrawal from Lebanon little was heard of him. However, at the beginning of the protests in the city of Deraa, Gen Ghazali was sent by Bashar al-Assad to assure locals of the president's good intentions. He reportedly told them: "We have released the children" - a reference to several teenagers who were arrested for writing anti-regime graffiti inspired by the events in Egypt and Tunisia. In May 2011, the EU said Gen Ghazali was head of Military Intelligence in Damascus Countryside (Rif Dimashq) governorate, which borders Deraa governorate, and was involved in the repression of dissent in the region. He is considered part of Assad's inner circle.