Branch 251

‘Caesar’ is the code name of a Syrian military photographer turned defector. He was tasked with taking photos of dead detainees. Tens of thousands of them. He later turned on his bosses and smuggled the photographs out of Syria. Together with journalist Garance Le Caisne and victims lawyer Patrick Kroker, we tell you the story behind the Caesar Photos and their relevance as evidence in the Koblenz trial. And what they mean to so many Syrians personally, including co-host Karam.

For regular updates, you can follow us on Twitter: @Branch_251, @Fritz_Streiff , @KaramShoumali and @paulinepeek

Additional information on the topics discussed in the episode:

• Garance Le Caisne on Twitter: @garancelecaisne
• Link to her book (English version, 2018): https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509528141
• Patrick Kroker on Twitter: @pkroker2
• Patrick's article, together with Wolfgang Kaleck, ‘Syrian Torture Investigations in Germany and Beyond - Breathing New Life into Universal Jurisdiction in Europe?’: http://www.nuhanovicfoundation.org/user/file/2018,_syrian_torture_investigations__kaleck&kroker.pdf 
• Yahoo’s interview with Bashar al-Assad (February 10, 2017): https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-yahoo-news-interview-president-100000514.html: 
• ‘A report into the credibility of certain evidence with regard to torture and execution of persons incarcerated by the current Syrian regime, (commonly known as ‘The Caesar Report’), submitted to the UN Security Council as S/2014/244 (April 4, 2014: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2014_244.pdf 
• Human Rights Watch, ‘Syria: Stories Behind Photos of Killed Detainees - Caesar Photos’ Victims Identified’ (December 16, 2015): https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/16/syria-stories-behind-photos-killed-detainees
• Adalmaz' website and Facebook page: justicefortheoppressed.org and https://www.facebook.com/AdalmazJustice/

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In this episode, Fritz takes a look back at the first-ever universal jurisdiction trial based on Germany’s Code of Crimes Against International Law, a trial against two Rwandan militia leaders for crimes committed in Congo.

Our guests, Der Spiegel's Beate Lakota and Andreas Schueller from ECCHR, followed this trial closely and talk to us about how the main accused died in detention, the lessons learned, and the parallels and differences with the Koblenz trial.

For regular updates, you can follow us on Twitter @Branch_251, @Fritz_Streiff , @KaramShoumali and @Paulinepeek

Additional information on the topics discussed in the episode:

• Beate Lakotta on Twitter: @BeateLakotta
• Her story on the arrest of the main accused: shorturl.at/csS49
• Her story on the death of the main accused: Ignace Murwanashyaka: Tod nach neun Jahren in U-Haft - DER SPIEGEL
• Andreas Schueller on Twitter: @schueller_a
• ECCHR's executive summary of the trial: https://bit.ly/2BuJa9m on the limitations and opportunities of universal jurisdiction for Syria: Justice for Syria? Opportunities and Limitations of Universal Jurisdiction Trials in Germany
• ECCHR trial updates: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-updates-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/
• Syria Justice And Accountability Centre's monitoring of the trial: https://bit.ly/37Jofv1

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بهذه الحلقة الإستثنائية باللغة العربية، يقوم كرم الشوملي بشرح القضية التاريخية ضد كل من إنور ر وإياد أ المتهمين بارتكاب جرائم ضد الإنسانية

تابع عمل فريق البودكاست على تويتر

@Paulinepeek , @Fritz_Streiff , @KaramShoumali  ,@Branch_251

@trsleman تابع عمل الصحفي سليمان العبدالله على تويتر

@luna_alabdalla تابع تغطية الصحفية لونا وطفة لهذه المحاكمة

https://thelevantnews.com/?s=لونا+وطفة

 تغطية المركز السوري للعدالة والمساءلة للمحاكمة

                                                https://ar.syriaaccountability.org/updates/

إذا كنت أحد ضحايا الفرع 251، بإمكانك التواصل مع:

                                            https://www.facebook.com/AdalmazJustice

بإمكانك دعم هذا العمل من خلال تبرع شهري على منصة باتريون

                                                        https://www.patreon.com/branch251

This week's episode is a deep dive into the recent testimonies of key witnesses whose statements might incriminate both defendants. However, the lines between truth and exaggeration, threats and self-preservation were blurred as three men spoke and the court listened.

You can follow us on Twitter @Fritz_Streiff , @KaramShoumali and @Paulinepeek

• Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/branch251
• Hannah el-Hitami: https://hannahelhitami.com/
• Follow Hannah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hannahel711
• Arabic trial update of the last 18 days: https://bit.ly/3iGXSuM
• ECCHR trial updates: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-updates-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/
• Syria Justice And Accountability Centre's monitoring of the trial: https://bit.ly/37Jofv1

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After almost 10 (!) years of war, devastation, crimes and gruesome images from Syria, are we still reading? Watching? Listening? Really? We tried to find answers to this complex question. And bring you a court report straight from Koblenz.

You can follow us on Twitter @Fritz_Streiff , @KaramShoumali and @Paulinepeek

Additional information on the topics discussed in the episode:

• Wafa Mustafa: @WafaMustafa9
• On her work as an activist: https://tinyurl.com/ycacwbsn
• Elizabeth Tsurkov: @Elizrael
• A selection of her interesting work: https://cgpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CGP-Syrian-Economic-Meltdown-June2020.pdf
• On the Brussels IV Conference: tinyurl.com/y9qabovh
• Brookings Institute on the Caesar Act: https://tinyurl.com/y9zeeuet
• On Ayham Ghazzoul: https://cpj.org/data/people/ayham-mostafa-ghazzoul/
• ECCHR trial updates: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-updates-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/
• Syria Justice And Accountability Centre's monitoring of the trial: https://bit.ly/37Jofv1

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In this episode, Fritz and Karam speak to two international mental health experts, Dr. Vedrana Mladina and Diana Rayes. They comment on the accounts of survivors we interviewed in the previous episode. And we ask them how exposure to war and torture affects survivors' lives, and what their needs are after torture to lead a healthy life.

• Dr. Vedrana Mladina

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vedrana-mladina-ab5a6775/?originalSubdomain=ae

• Diana Rayes

https://timep.org/people/nonresident-fellows/diana-rayes/

• About Alaa M.

In Arabic: https://baladi-news.com/ar/articles/61992

In English: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/world/europe/syria-doctor-torture-germany.html

In German: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/foltervorwuerfe-generalbundesanwalt-nimmt-syrischen-arzt-aus-hessen-fest-a-e22a443e-b4ad-480f-b9aa-e18013d5dfe4

https://twitter.com/Ahmad1618A/status/1274990804902252544

• Recommended by Diana rayes for Survivors

https://ipsocontext.org

https://www.diakoniewerk-simeon.de/beratung-integration/al-muntada/

https://www.nbhs.de/stadtteilarbeit/al-nadi-fuer-arabische-frauen

• On Sara Hegazi

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sarah-hegazi-funeral-1.5622673

• Literature Recommended by Dr. vedrana Mladina

The Murad Code 

www.muradcode.com; https://www.muradcode.com/draft-murad-code

Narrative Exposure Therapy 

https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/narrative-exposure-therapy

• ECCHR trial updates: https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-updates-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/
• Syria Justice And Accountability Centre's monitoring of the trial: https://bit.ly/37Jofv1

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In this episode, Fritz and Karam speak to two survivors of Branch 251. They share with us the painful details of their detention, memories and how this impacts their lives now. And what they would ask the accused if they got the chance.

Follow us on Twitter and @KaramShoumali and @Fritz_Streiff.

• Inside Syria's Secret Torture Prisons: https://nyti.ms/2Bk5h1J
• In German: Das Erste's report on Nuran al-Ghamian https://bit.ly/3et2nql
• In French: Lena Bjurström's report on Nuran al-Ghamian https://bit.ly/30Ylrc4
• In German: Founder of Adopt A Revolution Ferdinand Duerr on deportation of refugees: https://bit.ly/2YcA9tY
• You can follow Luna Watfa here: https://twitter.com/luna_alabdalla
• In Arabic: Luna Watfa's coverage of the trial can be found here: https://thelevantnews.com/
• ECCHR's press release on gender-based violence in Syria: https://bit.ly/3fFAonu
• Syria Justice And Accountability Centre's monitoring of the trial: https://bit.ly/37Jofv1

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Last week in court was special: Syrian survivors spoke as witnesses for the first time. One of them, Feras Fayyad tells us about his experience testifying in court and opening up about being sexually violated at Branch 251. We talk to two experts who tell us more about sexual violence in international cases and how the Syrian regime has used it as a weapon of war against its own people. Also on the episode: Anwar al Bunni's moment in court that he has been waiting for for so long. He testified as an expert witness and had a lot to say to the judges.

Follow us on Twitter and @KaramShoumali and @Fritz_Streiff.

Some additional sources on this episode and the trial here:

More on our guest Feras Fayyad:

• https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5926047/
• https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-07/oscars-syria-feras-fayyad-the-cave

Our guest Alexandra Lily Kather shared these resources with us for further reading:

• http://www.lse.ac.uk/women-peace-security/assets/documents/2018/LSE-WPS-WILPF-Syria-SGBV.pdf
• https://tinyurl.com/sgys6uy

The announcement we mentioned on the podcast: https://www.ecchr.eu/nc/en/press-release/press-conference-germanys-role-in-the-investigation-and-prosecution-of-sexual-and-gender-based-violence-in-syria/

Our guest Anne Bernard of the New York Times shared these articles with us for further reading:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/middleeast/syria-torture-prisons.html
• In Arabic: https://www.nytimes.com/ar/2019/07/22/world/middleeast/syria-torture-prisons.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/15/reader-center/insider-syria-prisons.html
• https://www.channel4.com/news/syrias-disappeared-new-evidence-that-military-leaders-knew-of-torture
• https://tinyurl.com/y2jftcoc

More on the 'Cesar' Photos:

• https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/caesar-photos-document-systematic-torture/
• https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/16/syria-stories-behind-photos-killed-detainees

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Eyad A. is the second defendant in the trial. The smaller fish. The less interesting accused. Or is he? Karam and Fritz go on a journey to find answers to this question.

We talked to friends, family, a colleague of his from Branch 251, and a court reporter to find out more. And we discovered some pretty interesting insights and contradictions in the various versions of events.

When did Eyad A. really join Branch 251? Did he fight with the rebels before he left Syria? Is justice going after the wrong guy? And how does he come across in the courtroom now that he is facing charges of crimes against humanity?

Branch 251 is listener supported. You can support us by subscribing, spreading the word and by going to our website and clicking the 'Support This Podcast' button.

Follow us on Twitter and @KaramShoumali and @Fritz_Streiff.

Some additional sources on this episode and the trial here:

• The article we mentioned that talks about Eyad A.'s time with the rebels: https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/101884/
• Hannah el-Hitami's website with a number of informative articles about Syria and the trial in Koblenz here: https://www.torial.com/hannah.el-hitami
• @ECCHR Berlin hearing summaries can be found here: https://ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-monitoring-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/…
• Weekly trial monitoring reports by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC): https://syriaaccountability.org/updates/2020/05/28/inside-the-anwar-raslan-trial-raslan-speaks-through-his-lawyer/

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In this week’s episode, Fritz and Karam speak to Der Spiegel’s Christoph Reuter about Anwar R. Christoph Reuter interviewed him in 2013 over two days and tells us "how he ticks".

And in court this week, Eyad A.’s police statement from August 2018 was admitted as evidence while his lawyers tried to dismiss it as inadmissible. Why? Tune in and find out.

Subscribe to keep every episode coming to you automatically every week. If you would like to support the podcast, go to our website and click 'Support This Podcast'.

You can follow us on Twitter @Fritz_Streiff and @KaramShoumali.

Some additional sources on this episode and the trial here:

• Christoph Reuter’s work and articles can be found here: https://www.spiegel.de/impressum/autor-90e188e1-0001-0003-0000-00000001557
• Christoph Reuter’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25404308-die-schwarze-macht
• Trial reports from Luna Watfa for The Levant in Arabic: https://tinyurl.com/yb5dqvwa
• @ECCHR Berlin hearing summaries can be found here: https://ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-monitoring-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/…
• Weekly trial monitoring reports by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC): https://syriaaccountability.org/updates/2020/05/28/inside-the-anwar-raslan-trial-raslan-speaks-through-his-lawyer/
• For the international law nerds (says Fritz), this article on the state immunity issue by Alexandre Skander Galand called 'What Counts as State Practice? The Koblenz Trial and Functional Immunity': https://www.justsecurity.org/70394/what-counts-as-state-practice-the-koblenz-trial-and-functional-immunity/

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