Talk:Abdulrazaq Tlass

Skype sex video
Naked Skype masturbator - CE knew that, but I never did look into it. I was double-checking Afredo Embid's picture ID (from this long piece in Spanish) and decided this character deserves a page. I'm apparently behind, but anyway, here's a page. --Caustic Logic (talk) 07:18, 6 May 2013 (UTC) I am trying to find photos from the sex video. Seems like Google has completely censored the event. Here are some snippets I found. The interesting thing from the point-of-view of investigations is how did Syrians ("Assad") manage to obtain the tape. Who was the woman? Was she an "Assad" spy? This would explain how the video was exposed. There was another version floating around that claimed to show the other party. She was supposedly a well known journalist. If so, how did Assad get the tape? -- Petri Krohn (talk) 08:04, 7 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Evidence: It is Abdul Razzak Tlas in the Sex Tape!
 * New Gift- The Mujahid Abdurazaq Of Faruq Battalion Masturbates To Lady On Skype (no nudity version) (I think I saw the full nudity version somewhere before it disappeared.)
 * Here its is – the site (Videobam) is not safe for work.

Images and General Info
(Cited as leading the largest of the smaller factions in Ar-Rastan, behind two stronger Islamist factions):
 * The Syrian Revolution: Image of First Lt. Abdul Razzaq Tlass on French-language TV somewhere
 * Twicsy: a nice picture of Farouk Battalion commander Abdulrazaq Tlass and FSA fighters, April, 2012
 * SyrianRevNews.com stamped photo: Tlass leads the head of some UN monitors by the hand, perhaps in Homs; Khaled Abu Saleh is also there, shouting things into the unhappy-looking monitor's face.
 * Al-Akhbar: Al-Rastan: A City Struggling Against Division, June 2012
 * ...the group led by the defected officer Abdul Razak Talas, which has recently entered the city with around only one hundred fighters – albeit well-armed.

...
 * ... a group affiliated with Abdul Razak Talas kidnapped an army colonel and forced him to announce his defection in front of a camera.

Death Controversy
Press TV among others, I presume, announced in February, 2013 that Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels was killed. That report, dated Feb. 9, said:
 * A major commander of Syria’s al-Farouq militant group has been killed by government forces in the western city of Homs as fighting between the two sides intensifies there. Abdul Razzaq Talas, along with an assistant of his, were killed on Thursday in heavy clashes with the Syrian armed forces. Once a high-ranking officer, Talas defected from the Syrian army late last year and his so-called al-Farouq militant group is blamed for terrorist attacks against civilians and security and military forces in Syria.

General errors: was he ever "high-ranking? They might be thinking Manaf. He commanded Farouq only locally, not nationwide. His death would not be a huge blow by any measure, and welcomed by some rebels at that point. But it would be a score if a known slab of dessicated and gelatinous pond scum was taken to the dirt. But is it true? The exact source isn't specified. Last anyone knew he had fled to Turkey and had only whatever reason to slink back and resume fighting.

I finally checked the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria database to see if there was any such entry. Nothing even close is recorded, so either he's alive, or his death went un-recorded here, which seems possible. Feel free to double-check: All 33 martyrs named Tlas --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:09, 24 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Indeed. Here is a video allegedly showing him on March 4, 2013 in Hama. Two days later, a comment on apxwn announces his dead "two days ago" in Al Khalidiya/Homs together with 20 fighters. So we have an alternative death date of March 4, 2013. Found that by searching Google for hits "in the last year". Not much after that. Urs recently wrote that he reappeared lately, but i've seen no evidence. --CE (talk) 10:47, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Okay, post-Feb. appearance too. But no record of death anywhere CDV, FWIW. I think somewhere you mentioned someone looking like him. (Or someone else?) I did look and didn't think so for a few reasons, but never did report back. He seems to be a wanted man, wanted then to be in Syria still and dying in Homs at this time of re-conquest. Like an evil Elvis, he can likely appear like that when needed it seems helpful. --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:40, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Ah yes, that was over here in my collection from that one channel. Your recent comment there looks like it belongs one section above that - it is not the UMLACA video this section is about. Anyway, I spotted him in this video. As I said, quality isn't good enough to be sure. Why don't you think it's him? --CE (talk) 12:49, 24 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Well, thinking he would have to have died and re-appeared, he'd be in some operations room off-screen, not loading rockets near the frontline. I figured. And that guy seems to have a beefier build and maybe a different, less confident/heroic posture. I'm no expert. Face seems consistent enough, but that's comparing two bland, average, Arab faces, one only on mid-res video. I'll say I see no reason to suspect it's him in particular, but I guess it could be. :) --Caustic Logic (talk) 13:50, 24 October 2013 (UTC)


 * A death report doesn't make you dead in the slightest, as Bandar Bush unfortunately proves lately. I think it's documented (although not yet here?) that Abdulrazaq was kicked out of Farouq leadership for his wanking video. He then founded the "1st Brigade" or something, shortlived. This video is Ahrar Al-Sham, up under the Turkish border protection with the fancy stuff. Could well be where he ended up ... anyway, the reason I see re: your last sentence is that my intuition says so - but that doesn't live up to our standards, I admit. :o) --CE (talk) 19:48, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

Manaf Tlass Relation?
From Wikipedia (lazy for now):
 * His cousin, Abdul Razzak Tlass, had announced that his cousin Manaf provided him and several units of the Free Syrian Army with arms in order to counter the military campaign on Rastan. Also, Manaf’s older brother, Firas Tlas, declared his support for the opposition. Firas Tlass also admitted to offering humanitarian and relief aid to the Farouq Brigades in the Free Syrian Army which is commanded by his cousin Abdul Razzak Tlas.[29]
 * Cited [29] Al Hindi, Omar (26 July 2012). "The life and times of the defecting Syrian army man, Manaf Tlas". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 26 July 2012. --Caustic Logic (talk) 09:13, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

Here's a little family portrait introduced by syrianews.cc as follows:


 * The following report by the Saudi owned Al-Arabiya news channel exposes Feras and Manaf roles in aiding their cousin starting the riots in Rastan city at the very beginning of the Syrian crisis, when the Syrian president Dr. Bashar Al-Assad entrusted Manaf to see the demands of his city and instead of resolving it, the former brigadier in the SAA Republican Guards, Manaf Tlass, opened the his unit’s weapons depots to the terrorists not caring their first victims were his own people in Rastan or his own colleagues in the Republican Guards, at least 11 of them were ambushed and lynched by herds of hundreds of terrorists smuggled from Lebanon back then.


 * Al-Arabiya report was supposed to boost the image of the Tlasses among the terrorists thinking they are winning, but exposed their treason with its prematurely release. Watch and pay a careful attention to what the Tlasses did to their city, their country and to the heritage of their own father:


 * -Vfs1x6joyc&cc_load_policy=1

--CE (talk) 03:32, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

Tlas Family Fatalities
As a side-product of checking for a record of our subject's demise in the CDV database, I found an almost perfect explanation, if only it were exactly a year later: Ahmad Abdulrazaq Tlas, civilian, driver, aged 54, killed February 7, 2012, by shelling. There is also a rebel fighter of similar name: Mahmoud Abdulrazaq Tlas, a farmer with FSA, Farouq Battalion, age 34, married with eleven children, killed April 6, 2012 by shelling. But those are the only two with even that similarity to our guy and so I say no name matches, let alone date ones. A couple of interesting things on the way, however:


 * 33 martyrs named Tlas recoded by the VDC. Note they tend to hang around Rastan only, this family. The few entries I've pulled up, mother's name is known and listed for every one of any age. That's unusual. Many are civilian, others given as non-civilian, meaning military, but also a martyr, so rebel/good guy fighters, not "regime/other statistics."

From September to November 2012, please note, rebels stop dying a bit and civilian Tlasses started dying in larger numbers. Holdout family who didn't sign up? Looking at a few entries, actually, I distinctly get that feeling. Older men shot by the regime, in front of their kids, just for being from Rastan, and maybe in part fleeing rebel controlled-hometown to shack up near the dictator in Damascus, etc. Worth more study perhaps. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:25, 24 October 2013 (UTC)

"Regime" fatalities from the Tlas family: considering this was a military family that betrayed itself, some should be expected to be killed for refusing to join the traitor faction. The CDv however has no record. all zero "regime" military fatalities named Tlas for the whole conflict. There were soldiers killed, like Lieutenant Husain Mohammad Tlas, killed July 10, 2012, presumably well after defecting - he's on the good list, as a martyr. Or maybe it was decided he defected after his death (location: blank, possibly just outside his front door). This defected captain killed August 6 is more likely to be a real rebel - he died in Idlib, a good place to fight. real defector, not so clear, etc. --Caustic Logic (talk) 11:02, 25 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Shouldn't you be searching in Arabic? -- Petri Krohn (talk) 11:48, 25 October 2013 (UTC)
 * Should be the same entries, but yeah, there's five. See, take this one, change the /ar to /en and you get this, same guy, spelled Tlass, but it should've come up. A regime force getting shot dead by protesters on April 17, 2011, dead soldier #243 in their database. For fun I checked who's #1 and #2. #1 in Herak, Deraa, March 18, #2 since deleted. Here's #22, a soldier shot at the Alomari mosque in Deraa on March 23.  --Caustic Logic (talk) 12:04, 25 October 2013 (UTC)

Involved in the Houla Massacre?
"Arifah" says Tlass led a brigade that took part in the attacks that enabled the Houla Massacre, near ar-Rastan on May 25, 2012, if not in the massacres themselves (that's not clear either way). Fighters from Rastan under whoever are mentioned more than those from the Houla area itself, among the alleged witnesses for a rebel attack, but only "Arifah" (IIRC) specified him. --Caustic Logic (talk) 08:55, 6 May 2013 (UTC) From our page Houla:ANNA Testimonies:
 * At 7:00 pm, Al-Farouq brigade, led by Abdulrazak Tlass, of the so-called “Free Syrian Army” arrived. He had more than 250 armed men with him from the city of Rastan, he also had 2 other groups with him one from Al-Qabo village, led by Yehya Al-Yusef, and another from Falla village. --Caustic Logic (talk) 08:55, 6 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Not only Arifah, it was told to Gomez (and likely Thomson) by the SAA on scene as well. Mentioned here for example (which is linked on our "rebel attack" witnesses page but still not properly incorporated/translated). --CE (talk) 09:07, 6 May 2013 (UTC)


 * For a while, before we had much evidence about the Abdulrazaq crime scene, I had the theory that most of the kids had already been dead and their corpses just stolen from the Hospital to present to the world, and that they were "named" Abdulrazaq in honor of this guy.


 * Hadn't heard that he was supposedly killed - what I heard was that his reputation was ruined through the masturbation video and that he was seen in the Netherlands or Belgium ... hmmm, but I can't recall where I heard this. Family relations to Manas Tlas should be mentioned in the article. There must be sources flying around on this somewhere on the wiki. --CE (talk) 07:42, 6 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks, forgot the Manaf relation part. --Caustic Logic (talk) 08:55, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:The Houla massacre

 * [moved from Talk:The Houla massacre] --CE (talk) 19:08, 6 May 2013 (UTC)

I understood that Abdul Razak Tlass was said to be involved in the events. Here is something that may be related. -- Petri Krohn 14:23, 19 September 2012 (EST)
 * Terrorist Aide's Confessions about Infamous Abdul Razzak Tlas


 * An aide to Abdul Razzak Tlas, leader of the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) Al Farouq Battalion and infamous Skype Ramadan masturbator, Salafi, and serial rapist, has confessed about some of the acts that he and his group were engaged in. Abdul Razzak Tlas's Al Farouq Battalion is responsible for some of the "great acts of freedom" such as detonating the Al Watani Hospital in Qusayr on the heads of its staff (doctors and nurses) and patients (civilians and military).


 * The name of the terrorist aide is Khawla Muhammad al-Masri.

P.S. – Do we need to start a page on the "infamous Skype Ramadan masturbator video" :-)


 * Hahaha, don't think so but can't hurt to link the "no nudity" version for reference. I call look-a-like, that's just a bit TOO good including the woman being an "Al-Arabiya presenter"... Page on the guy in general and/or the Farouq brigade including their alleged involvement in Houla could be useful, though. --CE 20:19, 19 September 2012 (EST)

This SPIEGEL report from March on the executioners and "burial brigade" of the Farouk brigade in Homs made some early "what, our rebels aren't model democrats?" waves: An Executioner for Syria's Rebels Tells His Story

This Al-Akhbar article from May is based on leaked SNC mails and shows how the Farouk brigade/battalion terrorized even other opposition groups so that they formed an alliance against them: Homs Opposition: Al Farouq Battalion is Killing Us

--CE 20:33, 19 September 2012 (EST)


 * No opinion yet. Sounds strange. should be good. Will wait. There should be a Manaf page, sounds like, and a page for the Tlass and Bakour and Hallak/Hassan types to be listed and sorted out, relative to Houla, and patterns teased out. --Caustic Logic 21:20, 19 September 2012 (EST)

Collection of several German mainstream media reports about the guy, stylized as hero and man of the people. Mostly from Baba Amr, likely early 2012, but also Ar Rastan. Material for pics. Al Farouq Syria Abdul Razzaq Tlass FSA عبد الرزاق طلاس --CE 23:31, 30 September 2012 (EST)


 * In it he says he was "the first officer to defect" and dates it June 2, 2011. "We're seeking death" - to die as martyrs, he says in a silent moment (11:15) between a lot of posing with children. All residents of Baba Amr "donate" to the fighters. Weren't welcome first, in November 2011, he says, but then the regime did so many horrible things that they "made it into the town" and were celebrated as liberators. Tlass and his men were stirred to tears by that. Mean regime doesn't deliver gas. --CE (talk) 10:30, 7 May 2013 (UTC)

New TIME magazine article: Syria’s Up-and-Coming Rebels: Who Are the Farouq Brigades? --CE 06:49, 6 October 2012 (EST)

Caught On Video?

 * Mushakis original story with stills and comments (Arabic), Sept. 18: حمل الفيديو الآن: وأخيرا بالصوت والصورة عبد الرزاق طلاس “يجاهد” لايف.. فليكذبونا الأن (Download the video now: Finally VIDEO Abdul Razak Talas "struggling" Live)


 * Malik Al-Abdeh The Abdulrazaq Tlass affair and the naked truth, Sept. 24, 2012: The Daily Journalist posting, Syria in Transtion posting.
 * when he decided to go online and engage in a spot of Skype sex sometime in mid-August, little did he know that regime hackers had installed spyware that enabled them to capture images from his webcam. The recording found its way online and one opposition news website decided to run with it.

...
 * Three days after the video was posted on the Internet, Lt. Tlass issued a video response in which he, quite straight-faced, claimed that the entire recording was a regime fabrication aimed at besmirching the reputation of revolutionary figures. Assad’s accomplices in this cheap propaganda trick were Russia and China, “who supplied him with the technology to do such things.” In the words of Shaggy, it wasn’t me.


 * At this point it might be worth reminding ourselves of what Lt. Tlass had done wrong. He used a laptop and satellite Internet connection donated by Syrian expats to conduct an online sexual liaison. He sort-of cheated on his wife with an unidentified female, though the rumour points to a journalist in Turkey. He displayed a gross lack of judgement and brought the FSA into disrepute.


 * All that, however, was dwarfed by the simple fact that he lied.
 * (and assisted in the Houla massacre, and lied about that too, blaming anyone else.)

Died Feb. 7, 2013?
Press TV, Feb. 9: Comdr. of Syria's al-Farouq rebels killed
 * A major commander of Syria’s al-Farouq militant group has been killed by government forces in the western city of Homs as fighting between the two sides intensifies there.


 * Abdul Razzaq Talas, along with an assistant of his, were killed on Thursday in heavy clashes with the Syrian armed forces.


 * Once a high-ranking officer, Talas defected from the Syrian army late last year and his so-called al-Farouq militant group is blamed for terrorist attacks against civilians and security and military forces in Syria. 

There was this section? Thursday was the 7th? Forgot to check. Preserved redundancy for the moment for fun. Might be the Feb. 7 2012 record of a very similar name, found late and misread as I did, really was the source. But man, what a goof if so. --Caustic Logic (talk) 10:50, 24 October 2013 (UTC)