Above the Judiciary and State Institutions: The Powers of the Syrian Security Services

In Syria, security services and their affiliated branches have always maintained a strong hold over public institutions and the judiciary. However, their grip tightened further after the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party seized power in 1963. Consequently, these agencies, in addition to the Syrian regular army, became the main tools for the sustenance of the regime.

After former President Hafez al-Assad carried out the 1970 coup…