Torture Photos from "Caesar"

On January 21, 2014, the media grew abuzz with startling news of "industrial scale" killing of at least 11,000 Syrian prisoners by their government, proven to an unusual degree by actual photographs and a rigorous study by credible investigators of such crimes. The claims are lodged originally by an alleged defector - code-named "Ceasar" - in possession of thousands of photos he says here taken, by him, in the Syrian prison system where he worked. With funding from Qatar, the claim was bolstered with the hire of Western war crimes prosecutors who commissioned a ("CONFIDENTIAL") report that seems a bit short on rigor and long on trusting "Caesar's" characterization of things. (deeper analysis pending)

The photographs, as far as can be seen, seem legitimately to prove systematic torture, as noted including various bodily injuries, starvation, and finally various kinds of execution. It seems evident these crimes are being carried out, and merit close scrutiny. But with this report of questionable integrity being precisely the scrutiny thus far, there is great reason to doubt just when and where the photos were taken, by whom, of whom, and under what circumstances.

The report and its (simply laundered?) allegations were first aired on the 21st exclusively through CNN and the Guardian, and have received enthusiastic support from the mainstream media. World leaders are taking advantage of the fallout as they position themselves for the grand and much-touted Geneva conference on ending the war. As the Western powers insist on a new Syrian government (agreed to somehow by "both sides") as the basis of any agreement, it should be noted this report blames the massive and just-revealed crimes on "the current Syrian regime."

The Defector and the Photographs
(forthcoming...)

The Report and Media Promotion
(forthcoming...) Title: A Report into the credibility of certain evidence with regard to Torture and Execution of Persons Incarcerated by the current Syrian regime (Prepared for Carter-­‐Ruck and Co. Solicitors of London.)

The report is marked on each page "CONFIDENTIAL," but this stringest measure was waived in the interest of bringing "Caesar's" important allegations before the global public. This was done through two media outlets - CNN in the United States, and the Guardian in the UK.
 * CNN PDF link(file name: Syria Board of Inquiry Doha PDF)
 * Guardian online readable posting
 * Guardian PDF link

Interestingly, the Qatari-owned al-Jazeera was relegated, along with the rest, to follower status on this story. This may suggest the seriousness with which the house of Thani has approached this information offensive against "the current Syrian regime."


 * CNN article: EXCLUSIVE: Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime

Syria

 * Xinhua reports
 * The Syrian Ministry of Justice on Wednesday denied a recent report by the British Carter-Ruck law office that accused the Syrian administration of torturing and killing thousands of detainees in government-run detention centers, the official SANA news agency said. The report is "politicized and lacks objectivity and professionalism," the ministry said in a statement after the report was firstly published on Monday, describing it as "baseless."
 * They didn't claim there were no photos, nor that the photos did not depict crimes. Rather:

"The report is a mere gathering of photos of unidentified persons proving that a number of them are foreign terrorists from several nationalities who had been killed when attacking the military checkpoints and civil institutions," the statement said, adding that "part of them are civilians and military personnel who were tortured and killed by the armed terrorist groups because of their support to the state."''
 * And of course they claim it was a politically motivated operation:

The ministry said "the aforementioned law office is clearly linked to hostile sides to the Syrian Arab Republic since the beginning of the crisis in Syria." ... The ministry added that the report was published two days before the Geneva II conference, undoubtedly proving that it has a political aim and tried to undermine the efforts exerted to realize peace in Syria and end terrorism in the country.

Turkey

 * Hurriyet Daily News: Syria unable to explain away photos showing torture in Syria, Turkish FM says
 * Syrian officials attending peace talks in Montreux, Switzerland, Jan. 23 could not dismiss photos that purported to show evidence of systematic torture, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said. The regime could not say that they had no connection with the photos. The person who took the photos testified in front of a group of international lawyers,” Davutoğlu said. “How can someone produce 55,000 photos if nothing occurred?” 

[...]
 * “The regime has two paths [open to it]. Either it will step into serious negotiations or all the members of the regime will be tried in The Hague or in the International Criminal Court. One or all of these will happen in the upcoming period,” Davutoğlu said.


 * When Damascus does something that is revealed, some try to protect the Syrian government and put Turkey in a difficult position, Davutoğlu added. “I am surprised by those who are asking, ‘What was going on behind this?’ instead of feeling indignation after seeing those photos,” he said.

ACLOS Findings
(forthcoming...)