Zaman al-Wasl debunked the "trend" circulating among regime loyalists regarding the alleged leaks of Foreign Ministry documents. The issue was quickly forgotten, despite several websites claiming to be human rights organizations preparing a coordinated campaign against the Syrian Foreign Ministry and the travel documents of Syrians, most of whom were completely unaware of the matter.
Zaman al-Wasl revealed early Wednesday that the story consisted of a compilation of old documents photographed on the day of Assad's fall, along with forged passports published years ago by the Turkish opposition to pressure their government into deporting Syrians.
Upon closer examination of some of what human rights websites claimed were documents that would shake the Syrian state, Zaman al-Wasl's report proved accurate. Date verification confirmed that the documents dated back to the Assad era, and the more recent ones were merely "officially termed 'regular' telegrams." As for the money transfers, they had been manipulated by adding a zero.
The trend "ended" before it even began. The truth is, our experience with documents allowed us to recognize from the outset that it was a mixture of mostly old documents, forged ones, and altered ones. We informed our colleagues in other local and Arab media outlets so they wouldn't fall victim to a "trend we destroyed."
You will likely not hear analyses, interpretations, or heroic pronouncements on television about the "Foreign Ministry documents" from human rights activists, as no one will summon them after the documents' forgery is exposed.
Al-Hussein Al-Shishakli - Zaman Al-Wasl
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