A group of Syrian activists testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the Assad regime’s atrocious crimes against civilians as they demanded support for the demands of the Syrian people, namely to topple the Assad regime and achieve a political transition in the country.
The activists included former military photographer codenamed ‘Caesar’ who defected from the Assad regime and smuggled thousands of horrible photos of the victims of torture inside Assad’s prisons out of Syria. They also included head of the Syrian Civil Defense Corps, Raed Al-Saleh, and Omar Alshogre, a democratic protester who was detained at the age of 15 and spent three years tortured in Assad’s prisons.
Caesar urged the US senators to enforce tougher measures against the Assad regime for the atrocities it is committing against Syrian civilians. “We have worked and we continue to work in order to bring the pleas and the screams of tens of thousands of those that remain in detention,” Caesar said.
“And the reason is that the Assad regime considered the inaction of the international community and the mere statements of condemnation as a green light to continue their crimes.”
Raed Al-Saleh urged the White House to change their policy in Syria and support Turkey’s efforts to establish a permanent ceasefire. “I did not come here to talk about humanitarian needs. I want to be very clear. What is happening in Syria is not an earthquake or hurricane that can be solved with humanitarian aid.”
Omar Alshogre talked about the torture he witnessed while in Assad regime’s custody. He explained that he witnessed horrific crimes against detainees, recounting how his father was killed in front of his eyes. He said that the numbers and names on the bodies that were documented by Caesar were written on several people, along with the same numbers and names.
US President Donald Trump in December approved the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act which involved the imposition of tough sanctions on the Assad regime and its supporters for the crimes they are committing against the Syrian people, obtaining the support of the majority of the Congress members. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
