For the first time, through the Qatari channel “Al-Jazeera,” the internationally known Syrian hero “Caesar” revealed his identity. He is Sergeant “Farid al-Madhhan,” the head of the forensic documentation office in the military police in Damascus, originally from the city of Daraa.
“Caesar,” who disclosed his identity for the first time on Al-Jazeera, stated that orders for photographing and documenting the regime’s crimes came from the highest levels of power to ensure that executions were actually being carried out.
The man known as “the King Witness” confirmed that the heads of the security agencies expressed their absolute loyalty to the Assad regime through images of detainees’ corpses. He explained that the first photographs of detainees’ bodies were taken in the morgue of Tishreen Military Hospital, belonging to protesters from Daraa in March 2011.
First Sergeant Farid al-Madhhan confirmed that as soon as a detainee entered the prison, a number was placed on their body after they were killed. He explained that the locations for gathering and photographing the bodies of detainees who died under torture were in the morgues of Tishreen Military Hospital and Harasta Hospital.
“Caesar” also revealed that the parking garage at Mezzeh Military Hospital was converted into a site for gathering bodies for photography as the number of victims increased. He noted that at the beginning of the Syrian revolution, the number of bodies ranged from 10 to 15 per day, later reaching up to 50 per day.
He stated that the regime recorded the causes of death for those it killed as cardiac and respiratory failure. He also exposed the systematic extortion of thousands of detainees’ families, who were denied any information about their loved ones.
The names “Sami” and “Caesar” have long been associated with the horrifying torture files of the defeated Assad regime in Syria. Since 2014, their identities remained hidden while they worked as part of a team that smuggled crucial evidence out of the country. Now, with the fall of the Assad regime, “Caesar” has finally revealed his true identity. He played a major role in exposing the regime’s crimes to the world and international organizations, contributing to the sanctions and restrictions that undermined and isolated the Assad government.
The images smuggled by “Sami and Caesar” have been used in trials in Western countries to convict Syrian officers of torture and human rights violations. Now, “Sami,” also known as “the Twin Witness” alongside Caesar, has revealed his identity in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
