Farid al-Madhhan: Syrian whistleblower 'Caesar' reveals himself in TV interview

The real identity of "Caesar," the whistleblower of human rights violations in Syria, was revealed in an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday as Lieutenant Farid Madhan. "Caesar" documented countless human rights violations during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, making the disclosure of his identity highly significant.

Madhan, who hails from the southern Syrian city of Daraa, stated that he served as the head of the forensic evidence department of the military police in Damascus before fleeing the country in 2024 with over 54,000 photographs documenting victims of torture, starvation, murder, and other crimes within Syrian government detention centers. These photographs are crucial evidence exposing the atrocities of the Assad regime.

Madhan revealed that "the orders to photograph and document the crimes of the Bashar al-Assad regime came from the highest levels of power to ensure the executions were carried out." He stated that at the beginning of the anti-government protests in Syria in 2011, his security department would receive approximately 10 to 15 bodies per day. By 2013, this number had increased to 50 per day.

The cause of death in most cases was listed as "cardiac arrest," which was later known to be a euphemism for death by torture. To smuggle these photographs out, Madhan said he would "hide concealed memory cards in his clothes and in bread to avoid detection." He also used "official military ID and forged civilian ID to travel between his workplace in Damascus and his home in Al-Tall."

"The smuggling operation continued almost daily for three years," he added, explaining the precautions he had to take as he was frequently searched at checkpoints by both government and opposition forces. The photographs shared by Madhan have garnered widespread international attention and have been used as key evidence of the atrocities committed in Syria under Assad's rule. Many photographs were exhibited at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the United Nations.

His evidence was subsequently used by the United States to implement the "Caesar Act," named after his pseudonym, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2019. The act, which came into effect in June 2020, imposed severe sanctions on the then-overthrown Assad government. Following Assad's downfall on December 8, 2024, Madhan stated that the sanctions must now be lifted to help the Syrian people rebuild.

"After the victory of the glorious revolution in Syria and the fall of the tyrant Assad regime, we call on the US government to lift the Caesar sanctions, as the reasons for these sanctions have disappeared with the demise of the criminal Assad regime," he said. Previously, the new Syrian government had repeatedly called for the lifting of international sanctions. The United States has eased its sanctions, granting six-month waivers to some humanitarian sectors, while EU foreign ministers recently agreed on a roadmap for easing sanctions.

Madhan also stated that he hopes the new rulers in Damascus will open "national courts to prosecute and hold war criminals accountable." He cited data from the Syrian Network for Human Rights, saying, "As the Syrian Network for Human Rights mentioned, there are more than 16,000 criminals from the extinct Assad regime accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Assad's downfall ended his family's five-decade rule, with fighters opening countless prisons where thousands of political prisoners had been held for years. Mass graves have been discovered, allegedly containing the remains of tens of thousands of Assad's victims. As many Syrians continue to search for missing relatives, calls for justice and accountability continue. Farid Madhan emphasized, "There are more than 16,000 criminals from the extinct Assad regime accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity."