IN JANUARY 1990, I went to the Syrian embassy in Paris and was granted a business visa. I wrote a letter to President Hafiz al-Assad, requesting his cooperation in helping us extradite Alois Brunner, and had it translated into Arabic. I made this letter public just before my departure on January 10.
At the French embassy in Damascus, I was told that I would meet the Syrian vice–foreign minister that morning. Then I was told that the meeting had been canceled. I went to the German embassy, where the ambassador told me there was nothing he could do about it.
All day long, I was followed by a plainclothes policeman. In desperation, I tried to get him on my side. Back at the hotel, I asked to hire a conference room for the next morning, where I would give a speech on the subject of Nazi war criminals, from Klaus Barbie in Bolivia to Alois Brunner in Syria. I was told that a small room had been reserved for me.
I took a taxi to the offices of Agence France-Presse. The policeman who was following me came over to talk to my taxi driver. I suggested he save time by simply riding in my taxi; he agreed. He spoke excellent French. When I returned to the hotel, I was told that the room I had booked was no longer available.
The next day, around 7:00 a.m., there was a knock at the door of my hotel room. A well-dressed man flanked by two soldiers in uniform politely informed me that I was being expelled from Syria. I barely had time to shave and dress before I was ushered into a car. The car broke down on the way to the airport. They fixed it. Instead of sending me back to Paris, I was put on a plane to Vienna. So, in the end, it was me, rather than the Austrian Brunner, who was expelled to Austria.
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AN INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED in July 1991 eventually brought some important information: we learned from a Syrian living abroad whose family was neighbors with Brunner that the ex-Nazi had left his home on October 15, 1991. Hafiz al-Assad’s chief bodyguard had taken it over. Brunner was removed by ambulance, supported by two nurses. We knew he was not long for this world.
Roland Dumas, the French foreign minister, announced that he would be making an official visit to Damascus on December 18, 1991. We decided to get there ahead of him.