Caesar Files: How Syria’s Torture Photos In Al-Assad Regime Prisons Sparked Global Fight for Justice

Before opposition forces toppled the government, Syria – a land of ancient history and cultural richness – was plunged into darkness for over a decade.

What began in 2011 as peaceful protests was met with unimaginable brutality by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, transforming the country into a battlefield.

The toll has been devastating: More than half a million lives lost, millions displaced, and countless numbers of Syrians gone missing in the shadows of prisons and detention centers.

Among these shadows, one of the most haunting revelations came from the Caesar Files.

This collection of tens of thousands of snapshots, smuggled out of Syria by a defector by the name of “Caesar,” exposed the systematic torture and killing of detainees in regime prisons. The images captured a stark reality: Starved bodies, victims of brutal torture, and even children who were executed.

Representing nearly 7,000 victims, these photos became undeniable evidence of crimes against humanity.

But the Caesar Files are more than just a collection of images. They revealed the depths of the al-Assad regime’s brutality and underscored the urgent need for accountability.
Caesar risked his life to gather and smuggle this evidence, but he didn’t work alone.

Osama Othman, known by his alias “Sami,” was a close collaborator, helping to document and preserve these images at great personal risk. Together, they safeguarded evidence that not only brought global attention to the regime’s atrocities but also paved the way for the Caesar Act – a US law imposing sanctions on the al-Assad regime to limit its ability to continue its war against the Syrian people.

As a crucial player in this effort, “Sami” helped Caesar navigate the dangers of smuggling the files out of Syria.

For Sami, this wasn’t just about exposing the regime’s crimes – it was about justice, about giving a voice to the victims, and ensuring that their stories would not be buried.

Al Arabiya spoke to Sami to hear his first-hand account of the risks, what happened along the way and what he and Caesar had hoped to achieve. He also shares his thoughts on his home country after the fall of al-Assad regime.
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