Caesar and Sami: Syrian opposition figures attempting to circumvent Caesar Act
North-Press Agency
Caesar and his colleague said in an interview with the Saudi newspaper Okaz, published on Sunday, that there is a group circumventing the coalition that is now trying to avoid the Caesar Act, and then freeze it as it has frozen the coalition during the past years.
The Caesar Act was named after a former photographer at the Documentation Department of the Military Police in Syria, who took pictures of more than 50,000 bodies in Syrian government prisons between 2011 and 2013, and smuggled them out with the help of a companion named Sami.
His colleague Sami added in the interview that the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (an opposition coalition commonly known as the SNC) did not provide them with any assistance, and that there were those who tried to blackmail them and extort the case for financial purposes.
He said, "We had hoped that the opposition would support this case, which concerns thousands of Syrians, but this did not happen."
"A large part of the Syrian opposition claiming to be in charge of the file has underestimated our security, safety, and the safety of our families in order to lead the scene and reap material and non-material gains from this file," Caesar said.
Caesar expressed his fears that the Caesar Act would be used as a negotiating tool by a group that is not entrusted with the sacrifices and revolution of the Syrian people.
Caesar and his colleague said, "There are more than 20 organizations and institutions working under the name of Caesar's team who earn hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from donor countries on the pretext of supporting the humanitarian and judicial file, taking advantage of our security situation, our inability to appear publicly, and there will be an appropriate time to disclose them."
They added that they and their families live as refugees in Europe amid security fears and permanent danger, and do not come into contact with anyone, especially Syrians, fearing for their lives from the Syrian regime's large network of spies in European countries."
The photos that Caesar and Sami subsequently leaked contributed to the issuance of the Caesar Act, which was signed by US President Donald Trump in December 2019. The act imposes sanctions on those responsible for war crimes committed in Syria, and on the parties and bodies that support the Syrian government, as well as those dealing with it or providing funding.
The Act is scheduled to enter into force next June, according to the announcement of the US Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey in early May.