Syrian Caesar reveals his identity

The perpetrator of the largest leak of the crimes of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Syrian detainees, known as “Caesar,” revealed

Meeting Caesar of Syria

In the program “The Story Continues” on Al Jazeera TV, the audience learned for the first time about Caesar Sorel, who is First Assistant Farid Nida Al-Madhan, head of the Forensic Evidence Department of the Military Police in the capital, Damascus, and who hails from the city of Daraa in the south of the country.

Al-Mudhan spoke about exciting details in the journey of collecting evidence and data that he leaked outside Syria and formed the core of the Caesar files, saying that the orders to photograph and document the crimes of Bashar al-Assad’s regime come from the top of the pyramid of power to ensure that the killing is actually being carried out.

Scenes and practices of the Assad regime

"Caesar" spoke about horrific scenes of the Assad regime's practices, as he pointed to systematic blackmail operations practiced against thousands of families of detainees without obtaining any information.

He narrated part of his method of hiding the photos of the detainees, saying: “I used to hide the media for transferring the photos in my clothes, a loaf of bread, and my body, for fear of being searched at the security checkpoints.”

He added, "I was subjected to inspection in areas controlled by the regime and in areas controlled by the Free Syrian Army."

Details about the mind

Al-Mudhan said that he had an official military ID and a fake civilian ID to move between his workplace in Damascus and his residence in the city of Al-Tall in the Damascus countryside. He added that the process of smuggling the photos took place almost daily from his workplace to his residence and lasted for about 3 years.

The decision to defect

Caesar revealed his decision to defect from the Assad regime, saying: “He had the decision since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, but he decided to postpone it so that he could collect the largest number of photos and evidence.”

He talked about his exit to Qatar via Jordan, where a law firm prepared his file in order to hold the ousted Syrian regime accountable.

He expressed his hope that the new Syrian government would open “national courts to prosecute and hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes,” and also called on the US government to cancel the Caesar Act and lift sanctions on the Syrian people.

It is noteworthy that in November 2016, the US House of Representatives approved the "Caesar Act", which accused the Assad regime of committing war crimes, and imposed sanctions on individuals involved in violations against Syrians or their families.