“Caesar-File Support Group” files criminal complaint in Germany against senior officials from the #assad intelligence services and the military police
On 21 September 2017, the group around the former Syrian military police employee “Caesar” took for the first legal action by filing together with ECCHR a criminal complaint with the German Federal Prosecutor in Karlsruhe against senior officials from the Syrian intelligence services and the military police concerning crimes against humanity and war crimes. A representative of the “Caesar-File Support Group” also provided the Federal Prosecutor with a set of high-resolution images and metadata. The metadata can be used to verify the photographs and provide further information about them. This adds to the evidentiary value of the images and paves the way for further investigatory steps.
German authorities can use “Caesar“ photos to issue international arrest warrants against Syrian senior officials
“The photos show the extent and the systematic nature of torture under Assad. The metadata is especially useful. Until now no international investigators or third-country national prosecutors or courts have seen this information,” explains ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. “The German Federal Prosecutor is the first authority which can use this data to bring about international arrest warrants against those most culpable within the Syrian regime.”
As one of the few countries where the principle of universal jurisdiction applies, Germany is playing a key role in the fight against impunity in Syria. Deutschland spielt im Kampf gegen die Straflosigkeit in Syrien eine Schlüsselrolle, denn es ist eines der wenigen Länder, in denen das Weltrechtsprinzip gilt.
As one of the few countries where the principle of universal jurisdiction applies, Germany is playing a key role in the fight against impunity in Syria. Deutschland spielt im Kampf gegen die Straflosigkeit in Syrien eine Schlüsselrolle, denn es ist eines der wenigen Länder, in denen das Weltrechtsprinzip gilt.
The Photos and Metadata of the “Caesar-Files Support Group”
The photos filed were taken in Syria between May 2011 and August 2013. They were subsequently obtained by the “Caesar-File Support Group” and smuggled out of the country. The images show the bodies of people who were tortured and died in Syrian government detention facilities.
The metadata and the accompanying criminal complaint from ECCHR and the “Caesar-File Support Group” provide information on the locations and institutions involved as well as the torture methods used and the causes of death. The complaint is directed against the heads of the #Syria’s National Security Bureau, the Military Intelligence Service, the Air Force Intelligence Service, the General Intelligence Directorate and the Military Police.
The metadata and the accompanying criminal complaint from ECCHR and the “Caesar-File Support Group” provide information on the locations and institutions involved as well as the torture methods used and the causes of death. The complaint is directed against the heads of the #Syria’s National Security Bureau, the Military Intelligence Service, the Air Force Intelligence Service, the General Intelligence Directorate and the Military Police.
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