Since the leak of the "Caesar photos" in 2015, which revealed documented evidence of torture and mass killing inside the prisons of the defunct Syrian regime, the regime has sought to confront the war crime in various ways, ranging from questioning the credibility of the images, accusing the human rights organizations that revealed them, to legal and political strategies to obstruct any possible international investigations.
Security meetings and methodological plans
According to a leaked document published by the Jusoor center, Syrian security leaders held a meeting in August 2014, which included prominent figures from the intelligence services and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in addition to legal and military advisors. The aim of the meeting was to develop a strategy to deal with the "Caesar" report and prevent it from being used as a tool of political or legal pressure against the Assad regime.
The meeting included:
Major General Fouad al-Tawil.
Brigadier General Abdul Salam Mahmoud - Air Force Intelligence.
Dr. Riad Daoudi.
Dr. Abboud Al-Sarraj.
Ambassador Hussam Ala - Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Judge Nizar Sedqni - Ministry of Justice.
Colonel Ahmed Ahmed Ibrahim - Military Police.
Engineer Diab Al-Hamad - Ministry of Interior.
- The Syrian regime resorted to several methods to cast doubt on the leaked images, including:
Denying the connection to the content: Syrian officials tried to claim that the images do not represent torture victims inside detention centers, but rather belong to armed elements killed in military battles.
Challenging the credibility of the main witness "Caesar" - Farid Al-Madhan -
: The regime sought to portray him as an unreliable person, claiming that he works for parties hostile to the Syrian state, and the document shows that the regime learned his identity in 2014.
Raising doubts about the large numbers: Regime officials confirmed that the large number of victims mentioned in international reports is exaggerated, indicating the difficulty of verifying the authenticity of each image individually.
- Legal and diplomatic action
The reaction of the defunct Syrian regime was not limited to media skepticism, but included diplomatic moves aimed at undermining any international action that might be based on these images, such as:
Hindering any international investigation: The Syrian regime rejected attempts to conduct an independent investigation into the credibility of the images, considering this to constitute "interference in internal affairs".
Exploiting legal loopholes: Legal advisors recommended avoiding discussing the details of the images, and focusing on dealing with the file from a political perspective to avoid any direct legal confrontation.
- Keeping information for later use
The leaked document also revealed the regime's keenness not to disclose all the information it had about the Caesar images, to ensure the ability to use them later if the file developed to a more complex international legal level.
It appears from these documents that the Syrian regime did not limit itself to trying to justify the images, but rather developed a comprehensive plan to cast doubt on them and prevent their use as a tool against it. However, despite the efforts made, these images continued to form an essential part of the international investigation files on human rights violations in Syria.
The meeting included:
Major General Fouad al-Tawil.
Brigadier General Abdul Salam Mahmoud - Air Force Intelligence.
Dr. Riad Daoudi.
Dr. Abboud Al-Sarraj.
Ambassador Hussam Ala - Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Judge Nizar Sedqni - Ministry of Justice.
Colonel Ahmed Ahmed Ibrahim - Military Police.
Engineer Diab Al-Hamad - Ministry of Interior.
- The Syrian regime resorted to several methods to cast doubt on the leaked images, including:
Denying the connection to the content: Syrian officials tried to claim that the images do not represent torture victims inside detention centers, but rather belong to armed elements killed in military battles.
Challenging the credibility of the main witness "Caesar" - Farid Al-Madhan -
: The regime sought to portray him as an unreliable person, claiming that he works for parties hostile to the Syrian state, and the document shows that the regime learned his identity in 2014.
Raising doubts about the large numbers: Regime officials confirmed that the large number of victims mentioned in international reports is exaggerated, indicating the difficulty of verifying the authenticity of each image individually.
- Legal and diplomatic action
The reaction of the defunct Syrian regime was not limited to media skepticism, but included diplomatic moves aimed at undermining any international action that might be based on these images, such as:
Hindering any international investigation: The Syrian regime rejected attempts to conduct an independent investigation into the credibility of the images, considering this to constitute "interference in internal affairs".
Exploiting legal loopholes: Legal advisors recommended avoiding discussing the details of the images, and focusing on dealing with the file from a political perspective to avoid any direct legal confrontation.
- Keeping information for later use
The leaked document also revealed the regime's keenness not to disclose all the information it had about the Caesar images, to ensure the ability to use them later if the file developed to a more complex international legal level.
It appears from these documents that the Syrian regime did not limit itself to trying to justify the images, but rather developed a comprehensive plan to cast doubt on them and prevent their use as a tool against it. However, despite the efforts made, these images continued to form an essential part of the international investigation files on human rights violations in Syria.
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