Syrian Defector from Assad's Death Camps Smuggles 55,000 Photos of Secret Prisons

[uhnope]

A Syrian forensic photographer, who now uses the pseudonym Ceasar, documented the death of thousands of detainees in Syria's brutal prison system. He made more than 55,000 high-resolution images before he fled the country, fearing for his safety, in 2013.

He spoke publicly for the first time in July 2014, when he appeared before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, wearing a blue jacket with a hood to protect his identity.

Dozens of Ceasar's photographs will be displayed again in the halls of Congress on Wednesday. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in cooperation with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee are sponsoring the exhibition.

The graphic images show beaten and bruised bodies, many are skeletal, most with signs of torture. Now, Syrian families are searching the photos online after Syrian opposition groups posted more than 6,000 images in March.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/07/14/422544647/documenting-death-inside-syrias-secret-prisons

[Rex]

1. 'Now, Syrian families are searching the photos online'

The horror of trying to find a loved one through pictures of unspeakable torture. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families.

[kelliekat44]

2. This is tragic. But we should believe this guy because...?

I just want to know more about the photographer. We have been fooled and led astray by so many claiming to be from one side or the other. Iraq burned in my mind how governments and their militaries can launch us into conflict because we don't verify enough. I remember the photos of the incubators in Iraq.