The United States has imposed sanctions on four Syrian citizens, including the son of President Bashar al-Assad Hafez, as well as 10 organizations, including the 1st armored division of the Syrian Arab army. This was reported by the press service of the US Treasury.
"The targets of today's sanctions include a corrupt Syrian businessman who is involved in supporting the regime, as well as nine legal entities that are responsible for enriching the Syrian regime through the construction of luxury real estate. The United States also blacklisted three individuals associated with the Assad regime, including a high-ranking General responsible for the continuation of the conflict in Syria, as well as the 1st division of the Syrian Arab army responsible for violating the truce in Syria," the document reports.
"This will be followed by new sanctions, which will be part of an ongoing campaign of economic and political pressure aimed at depriving the Assad regime of the resources it uses to wage war against the people of Syria," the White House promised.
The sanctions were imposed jointly by the US Treasury and the US State Department. Some of them were involved in the new American "Caesar's law", which came into force on June 17. In particular, one Syrian businessman and nine organizations were blacklisted for "enriching the Syrian regime through activities in the construction of luxury real estate".
"The investment of corrupt businessmen with ties to Assad in luxury real estate has been made possible by the forced displacement of innocent civilians, and they [the businessmen] are also making the situation worse with the oppression of the Syrian people," says US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The list also included the son of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, born in 2001. The sanctions were imposed on the 1st armored division of the Syrian Arab army and its commander, Zuheir Tawfiq al-Assad, as well as his son, Karam al-Assad.
"Caesar's Law"
"Caesar's law", or Syria Civilian Protection Act, was included in the US military budget for the fiscal year 2020 and signed by President Donald Trump on December 20, 2019. This document gives the Washington administration the right to impose restrictive measures against organizations and individuals providing direct and indirect assistance to the Syrian government, as well as various armed groups operating in the country, which, according to the US, are supported by the authorities of Syria, Russia and Iran.
The name of the law comes from the pseudonym of a Syrian soldier who fled the country in 2013 and allegedly gave Western human rights activists photos of violence against prisoners in Syrian prisons.
On June 17, Washington imposed new sanctions against Damascus under the "Caesar's Law", which are applied to 39 individuals, including President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma, organizations and foundations. The list includes, in particular, 16 companies from Syria, two firms based in Austria, and one company each from Canada and Lebanon.
As previously stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Syria Walid Muallem, "Caesar's Law" aims to return the situation in Syria to 2011 and open the door for the return of terrorists to the country. According to him, Syria is used to unilateral restrictions by the United States and the West under various names.
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Based on materials from TASS