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Rabat — Mohammad Hassan “Kanjo”, known as the “Butcher of Sednaya,” has been arrested following violent clashes in his hometown of Kharbat al-Maiza, near Tartus, Syria.
Hassan was a senior officer in Bashar al-Assad’s regime and is accused of playing a key role in the atrocities carried out at Sednaya prison, where thousands of dissidents were killed.
Kanjo’s role in the Assad regime’s brutal exactions came to Public attention following the regime’s fall earlier this month.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched yesterday a security operation to capture Kanjo, which turned into deadly clashes between his family and the forces sent to arrest him. Kanjo’s brother, along with armed locals, ambushed the security forces, killing 14 officers.
HTS confirmed Kanjo’s arrest today and said he was taken into custody in Kharbat al-Maiza.
The Syrian National Coalition, the leading opposition group in exile since the conflict began, said on X (formerly Twitter) that Kanjo’s arrest is “an important step toward achieving justice and holding those responsible for crimes against the Syrian people accountable.”
One former prisoner said that “Kanjo would read the charges to us. Despite our denial, he treated us as criminals, not as defendants. His behaviour was purely political, not legal.”
His court sessions were fast and brutal. “The trial would last no more than a few minutes,” said another survivor. “Once the sentence was read, we were quickly taken away. There was no real trial.”
Kanjo was not only responsible for sentencing prisoners but also for the shocking conditions inside the infamous Sednaya prison, where extrajudicial executions and torture became everyday horrors.
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Activists and former detainees accuse him of issuing death sentences based on forced confessions, with innocent people caught up in the regime’s web of lies.
Kanjo was born in 1957 and started his career after earning a law degree from Damascus University. He quickly moved up the ranks of the Syrian army, becoming a key figure in the military judiciary.
By 2011, when the Syrian revolution broke out, Kanjo was serving as the Military Attorney General at the Field Military Court in Damascus. From there, he oversaw the brutal trials of civilians and soldiers accused of opposing the regime.
His name became synonymous with summary executions, with many prisoners sentenced to death without proper trials. Many families paid bribes for information about their loved ones.
Hassan’s wealth is estimated at $150 million and was allegedly built on these extortion schemes, according to opposition groups.
“Kanjo’s arrest is a step toward justice,” said Diab Sariyah, a spokesperson for the Sednaya Prison Detainees and Missing Persons Association. “It brings hope to the families of those lost and tortured by the regime.”
