Rifaat al-Assad is accused of ordering murder, torture, cruel treatment, and unlawful arrests in Syria in February 1982. About 40,000 dead, the names of about 10,000 of whom were documented, and 17,000 missing persons.
The killing, torture and displacement operations were carried out by the Defense Brigades forces. Two years after committing the Hama massacre, he carried out a failed coup attempt against his brother, after which he moved to live in exile until 2021, when he returned to Syria.