Farid al-Madh’an, a former Syrian military police officer, has publicly identified himself as ‘Caesar,’ the whistleblower who exposed the Assad regime’s atrocities by smuggling over 54,000 photographs documenting torture and mass killings in Syrian detention centers.
In a recent interview with Al Jazeera, al-Madh’an disclosed that he served as the head of the Forensic Evidence Department in Damascus. Between 2011 and 2014, he covertly gathered and smuggled thousands of images depicting detainees who died under torture. To evade detection, he concealed memory cards containing the photographs inside his clothing and loaves of bread. He utilized both official military and forged civilian IDs to move between his workplace and residence.
The images he provided gained international attention, highlighting the brutality of the Syrian regime. They were displayed at institutions such as the US Holocaust Museum and the United Nations. His evidence was instrumental in the enactment of the ‘Caesar Act’ by the US in 2019, imposing heavy sanctions on the Assad regime.
Al-Madh’an hails from Daraa, known as the ‘Cradle of the Syrian revolution,’ which led to the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. His courageous actions have been pivotal in bringing international attention to the human rights abuses committed during the Syrian conflict.
