“In response to what some news agencies have reported about the issuance of a decision by the investigating judge in Damascus accusing Mr. Abdel Halim Khaddam, former deputy to the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, of committing espionage crimes against a foreign state, including charges related to attacking Syria, the following statement has been issued by the media office of Mr. Abdel Halim Khaddam:
- Mr. Abdel Halim Khaddam is not surprised by the issuance of such a decision by the investigating judge, especially given that the Syrian judiciary has become a part of the security tools utilized by the regime for repression and tyranny. It is noteworthy that the decision does not name the foreign state allegedly involved in the espionage activities.
- The one who deserves to be tried and will be tried by the people in the near future is the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who has committed the following crimes, which amount to high treason:
- Suppression of the country, curbing freedoms, engaging in corruption, impoverishing the people, and dismantling national unity, weakening the state and depriving it of the capability to protect its land, skies, and shores.
- Undermining the armed forces through mismanagement, weakening their structure, professionalism, morale, and preparedness, rendering them incapable of fulfilling their national obligations.
- Giving instructions to the leadership of the air and defense forces not to engage with Israeli and non-Israeli military aircraft, effectively turning Syrian airspace into an arena for Israeli airstrikes at will. The aggression against the Deir ez-Zor region wasn’t the first, and Bashar al-Assad consistently obscured the truth from citizens to hide the extent of the significant damage he caused to the state’s structure and the country’s reality.
- Dismissal of a significant number of pilots and pilot engineers for reasons unrelated to their job duties.
- Involvement in murder and bombing crimes in Lebanon, causing major damage to Syrian interests and fraternal relations between the two peoples, in addition to crimes committed against innocent citizens in fraternal Iraq.
- Terrorism was one of the tools of the ruling regime, and the explosion that occurred two months ago in the Muslimiyah area in Aleppo was not due to heat, but rather the result of a hidden plot. Bashar al-Assad falsely claimed that the explosion, which occurred at 5 a.m., was due to heat, while some news outlets indicated an airstrike targeting the site.
- Weakening Syria is part of Bashar al-Assad’s policy and is within a plan to obtain Israel’s support for his regime. The true nature of the relationship between him and the Israelis is evident. Israeli officials have expressed their desire for his regime to continue, as shown by statements from Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, who respected the Syrian president and his policies.
The Syrian people will soon hold accountable the ruling clique that has deprived them of their freedoms, violated their dignity, intensified their suffering, and breached their national security boundaries.”