Rifaat has an interesting bio. I'm wondering where his loyalties lie? After all he's been "exile" in France for 36 years, after he attempted to overthrow his brother Hafez.Given his exile in France, it seems most likely France and friends were behind the overthrow attempt and gave their man safe haven.Rifaat AssadLink
Duraid Assad, the cousin of Syrian president Bashar Assad, revealed that his father, Rifaat, was interested in taking part in the country’s political process.In a post on his official Facebook page, Duraid revealed that his father “was looking forward to building Syria – a Syria which all national political forces can take part in a comprehensive political operation” in shaping the country’s future.
And Duraid will take the reigns from his father?
“Just as Rifaat had distanced himself from developments in Syria for 36 years, due to the major political dispute with the ruling power and the way it has handled several political, economic and social files, he and his family are distancing themselves from what is happening in Syria today,” said Duraid.Rifaat is the younger brother of late president Hafez Assad and staged a failed coup against him in 1984. He has been in exile in France ever since.The 82-year-old, dubbed the "Butcher of Hama" for allegedly commanding troops who put down an uprising in central Syria in 1982, has been under investigation in France since 2014.
Under investigation since 2014?? France began investigating Rifaat Assad 30 years after giving him exile? Strange.
He is standing trial in Paris for crimes allegedly committed between 1984 and 2016, including aggravated tax fraud and misappropriation of Syrian funds.Indirectly referring to the dispute between Bashar and Makhlouf, Duraid said his father “is above all petty disputes,” adding: “We are, once again, rising above our wounds and pain.”
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