I am a senior officer of the Assad regime and a mentally ill person
In the ongoing security operations by the new Syrian government following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December, the Syrian Internal Security Directorate announced on Tuesday that Mohammad Joudat Shahada, a former member of Assad’s 25th Army Division, has been arrested in the village of Ain al-Bayda in Latakia province.
According to official sources, Shahada has been involved in committing widespread crimes against civilians in several provinces, and numerous images of him mutilating the bodies of victims have been published.
In an interview, he admitted that the films and images released are his and claimed that he carried out these actions due to mental illness.
This arrest comes as Ahmad Shara, the interim President of Syria, had previously called on the remnants of the former regime to lay down their weapons and surrender.