Report Purports To Detail 'Systematic' Killing By Syria's Assad
The government of Syrian President Bashar Assad conducted "systematic torture and killing" of those detained in the country's bloody civil war. That's according to a report by three former war crimes prosecutors who examined thousands of photographs of dead prisoners that they say were smuggled out by a Syrian defector. The revelation comes a day before Syrian peace talks are set to begin in Switzerland.
The report, first obtained by CNN and The Guardian, says the bodies in the photographs "showed signs of starvation, brutal beatings, strangulation, and other forms of torture and killing." (A warning to readers: The photographs in the report are of a graphic nature).
The defector, codenamed "Caesar," who reportedly smuggled the pictures out of Syria also photographed the bodies when he worked for the Syrian military police, the report says. It adds:
"Having carefully interviewed 'Caesar' and evaluated his evidence in light of the exhibits available to it, the inquiry team found him, for its part, to be a truthful and credible witness. He revealed no signs of being 'sensational'; nor did he seem partisan. Although he was a supporter of those who opposed the present regime, the inquiry team is satisfied that he gave an honest account of his experiences.
"If he wished to exaggerate his evidence it would have been very easy for him to say that he had actually witnessed executions. In fact, he made it quite plain that he never witnessed a single execution. There were many other reasons which drove the inquiry team to its conclusion that his evidence was reliable and could safely be acted upon in any subsequent judicial proceedings."