Muristek
Leaked footage documenting the 2013 execution of dozens of Syrian civilians led two genocide researchers on a painstaking search over three years to find the man responsible. The first of a two-part special
It began when a laptop belonging to a Syrian intelligence unit in Damascus, known as Branch 227, broke down. A new young recruit to a militia allied to the Syrian army was entrusted to repair it. As he scoured its hard drive, he discovered shocking footage of apparent war crimes. He decided to leak the video to an anti-regime activist in Paris.
The video soon made its way to Uğur Üngör, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at the University of Amsterdam and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He and Syrian researcher Annsar Shahhoud were among the first people to see the video, which has now been published by the Guardian. They tell Michael Safi and Guardian Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov that it is rare to see such clear, unambiguous evidence of regime-lead civilian executions.
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