http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...her-smuggles-55-000-torture-photos-Syria.html
Aid agencies have warned that sickening pictures of tortured corpses - allegedly victims of 'systematic killing' in Syrian jails - are just the tip of the iceberg.
The shocking images, smuggled out of the country by a military police photographer, were described as 'clear evidence' of crimes against humanity by a team of war crimes prosecutors.
They show emaciated corpses with strangulation marks, cuts, bruising and signs of electrocution evidence of extreme torture, claim investigators. Some victims had no eyes.
+12
Shocking: This picture is one of 55,000 taken by a Syrian military police defector showing emaciated corpses which investigators say are evidence of extreme torture by Assad's regime. Photographs: The Report
+12
Leverage: A report into alleged human rights abuses in Syria was made available to the United Nations, governments and human rights groups just as peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland to try to end the three-year conflict
And today Foreign Secretary William Hague, as well as the U.S. government, condemned the crimes shown in the photographs, and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
Mr Hague described the images as 'compelling and horrific', and said: 'it is important those who have perpetrated these crimes are one day held to account.'
A spokesman from the U.S. State Department said: 'These reports suggest widespread and apparently systematic violations by the regime. These most recent images ... are extremely disturbing. They're horrible to look at.'
Sir Desmond de Silva, one of the lawyers who compiled a report on the credibility of the images, said that the evidence 'documented industrial-scale killing.' He pointed out that because the images purport to come from just one part of Syria, the human rights abuses could be much more widespread.
This is a smoking gun of a kind we didnt have before. It makes a very strong case indeed, he said.
It is the tip of the iceberg because this is 11,000 in just one area.'
Assad denies the claims, insisting he is fighting terrorists, while a Syrian government spokesman questioned whether the images were even taken in Syria.
The 31-page report - released by The Guardian and CNN - was commissioned by Carter-Ruck solicitors in London on behalf of the Qatari government, which supports the Syrian uprising.
The images have drawn condemnation from international aid groups as well.
+12
Graphic: The defector's evidence, which records deaths of those in custody from March 2011 until August 2013, were smuggled out along with files detailing the victims on memory sticks
+12
Dossier of evidence: The photos will ratchet up the pressure on President Bashar Al Assad who the US and its Western allies - including the UK - say has committed war crimes against his own people
+12
Allegations: The photographs allowed a death certificate to be produced without requiring families to view bodies, and also confirmed that execution orders had been carried out, the report claimed
Philip Luther, the director of Amnesty International in the Middle East, said: 'World leaders must demand that the Commission of Inquiry and other human rights bodies be granted immediate access to all places of detention formal and informal in Syria.
'The allegations are consistent with aspects of Amnesty Internationals own research into torture and enforced disappearance by the Syrian government and must be taken seriously.
'If confirmed, these would be crimes against humanity committed on a staggering scale. It certainly raises the question once again why the Security Council has not yet referred the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.'
'The report raises serious concerns over the safety of the thousands of individuals, including peaceful activists, currently held in state-run detention centres and those subjected to enforced disappearance.'
Today's report was compiled by three lawyers, all former prosecutors at the criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone, examined the evidence and said they found the defector, who goes by the name of Caesar, credible.
According to the report, he said his job was to take pictures of killed detainees, though he did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture.
There could be as many as 50 bodies a day to photograph which require 15 to 30 minutes of work per corpse, he told an inquiry team.
The photographs allowed a death certificate to be produced without requiring families to view bodies, and also confirmed that execution orders had been carried out, he claimed.
Families of the dead were told cause of death was either a heart attack or breathing problems.
The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the agents of the Syrian government.
+12
Horrific: The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was 'clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of persons detained by the Syrian government'
+12
+12
Documenting death: Caesar said his job was to take pictures of killed detainees, but did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture
The evidence would support findings of crimes against humanity and could also support findings of war crimes.
Caesar's path to defection began in September 2011, around seven months after the conflict broke out, when he was contacted by a relative who had fled the country.
The man - known as 'Caesar's contact' - was working for 'international human rights groups', according to the report.
Caesar began sending him thousands of images, but soon became concerned for his safety, so the Syrian opposition arranged for him and his family to be smuggled out of the country.
Their location has not been revealed, with the lawyers only saying they conducted their investigation in the Middle East.
It is also not clear how the Qatari regime came to be involved in the publication of the report.
Qatar has carved an influential role in Syria by being quick to help the rebels and, later, by helping set up the Coalition a year ago with the aim of creating a credible alternative to Assad.
ctor: Caesar began sending him thousands of images, but soon became concerned for his safety, so the Syrian opposition arranged for him and his family to be smuggled out of the country
+12
Evidence of strangulation: A picture which appears to show a ligature mark on a corpse's neck
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...her-smuggles-55-000-torture-photos-Syria.html
Aid agencies have warned that sickening pictures of tortured corpses - allegedly victims of 'systematic killing' in Syrian jails - are just the tip of the iceberg.
The shocking images, smuggled out of the country by a military police photographer, were described as 'clear evidence' of crimes against humanity by a team of war crimes prosecutors.
They show emaciated corpses with strangulation marks, cuts, bruising and signs of electrocution evidence of extreme torture, claim investigators. Some victims had no eyes.
Shocking: This picture is one of 55,000 taken by a Syrian military police defector showing emaciated corpses which investigators say are evidence of extreme torture by Assad's regime. Photographs: The Report
Leverage: A report into alleged human rights abuses in Syria was made available to the United Nations, governments and human rights groups just as peace talks are due to begin in Switzerland to try to end the three-year conflict
And today Foreign Secretary William Hague, as well as the U.S. government, condemned the crimes shown in the photographs, and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
Mr Hague described the images as 'compelling and horrific', and said: 'it is important those who have perpetrated these crimes are one day held to account.'
A spokesman from the U.S. State Department said: 'These reports suggest widespread and apparently systematic violations by the regime. These most recent images ... are extremely disturbing. They're horrible to look at.'
Sir Desmond de Silva, one of the lawyers who compiled a report on the credibility of the images, said that the evidence 'documented industrial-scale killing.' He pointed out that because the images purport to come from just one part of Syria, the human rights abuses could be much more widespread.
This is a smoking gun of a kind we didnt have before. It makes a very strong case indeed, he said.
It is the tip of the iceberg because this is 11,000 in just one area.'
Assad denies the claims, insisting he is fighting terrorists, while a Syrian government spokesman questioned whether the images were even taken in Syria.
The 31-page report - released by The Guardian and CNN - was commissioned by Carter-Ruck solicitors in London on behalf of the Qatari government, which supports the Syrian uprising.
The images have drawn condemnation from international aid groups as well.
Graphic: The defector's evidence, which records deaths of those in custody from March 2011 until August 2013, were smuggled out along with files detailing the victims on memory sticks
Dossier of evidence: The photos will ratchet up the pressure on President Bashar Al Assad who the US and its Western allies - including the UK - say has committed war crimes against his own people
Allegations: The photographs allowed a death certificate to be produced without requiring families to view bodies, and also confirmed that execution orders had been carried out, the report claimed
Philip Luther, the director of Amnesty International in the Middle East, said: 'World leaders must demand that the Commission of Inquiry and other human rights bodies be granted immediate access to all places of detention formal and informal in Syria.
'The allegations are consistent with aspects of Amnesty Internationals own research into torture and enforced disappearance by the Syrian government and must be taken seriously.
'If confirmed, these would be crimes against humanity committed on a staggering scale. It certainly raises the question once again why the Security Council has not yet referred the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.'
'The report raises serious concerns over the safety of the thousands of individuals, including peaceful activists, currently held in state-run detention centres and those subjected to enforced disappearance.'
Today's report was compiled by three lawyers, all former prosecutors at the criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone, examined the evidence and said they found the defector, who goes by the name of Caesar, credible.
According to the report, he said his job was to take pictures of killed detainees, though he did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture.
There could be as many as 50 bodies a day to photograph which require 15 to 30 minutes of work per corpse, he told an inquiry team.
The photographs allowed a death certificate to be produced without requiring families to view bodies, and also confirmed that execution orders had been carried out, he claimed.
Families of the dead were told cause of death was either a heart attack or breathing problems.
The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of detained persons by the agents of the Syrian government.
Horrific: The inquiry team said it was satisfied there was 'clear evidence, capable of being believed by a tribunal of fact in a court of law, of systematic torture and killing of persons detained by the Syrian government'
Documenting death: Caesar said his job was to take pictures of killed detainees, but did not claim to have witnessed executions or torture
The evidence would support findings of crimes against humanity and could also support findings of war crimes.
Caesar's path to defection began in September 2011, around seven months after the conflict broke out, when he was contacted by a relative who had fled the country.
The man - known as 'Caesar's contact' - was working for 'international human rights groups', according to the report.
Caesar began sending him thousands of images, but soon became concerned for his safety, so the Syrian opposition arranged for him and his family to be smuggled out of the country.
Their location has not been revealed, with the lawyers only saying they conducted their investigation in the Middle East.
It is also not clear how the Qatari regime came to be involved in the publication of the report.
Qatar has carved an influential role in Syria by being quick to help the rebels and, later, by helping set up the Coalition a year ago with the aim of creating a credible alternative to Assad.
ctor: Caesar began sending him thousands of images, but soon became concerned for his safety, so the Syrian opposition arranged for him and his family to be smuggled out of the country
Evidence of strangulation: A picture which appears to show a ligature mark on a corpse's neck
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...her-smuggles-55-000-torture-photos-Syria.html
