yes. who i'll send us. who are the victims? a search for clues that gets under your skin. close up. next on d w. ah, if you ever have to cover up a murder, the best way is to make it look like an accident. raring to read. you've never read a book like this. literature list under german must reads oh, video recorded in damascus, syria. i think while a uniformed man marches another man towards a pit that's extremely disturbing.

out of respect for the victims were only showing reworked versions of such scenes from the video. we can look the perpetrator directly in the face when he pulls the trigger without remorse. within 6 minutes and 43 seconds, 10 people are shot dead. the victims are marked by their killers. i give my regards to purpose surely do not want anybody to see this video. individuals were also kept in top secrecy. this report reveals a previously unknown crime and syria. researchers have looked into the background and tracked down the perpetrators who themselves will give information about the massacres. they have committed their crimes have plunged to this

syrian family in germany into deep grief. they recognise a loved one in the video drawing mug shots 3 times. 3 shots. we are speechless. the amsterdam, the netherlands, who go is on his way to his office in the center of the picturesque old town. the historian teaches the challenging subject of mass violence in the middle east and neon, the institute for war, holocaust and genocide studies. 3 years ago, a friend approached him at a conference in paris, telling him there was something he had to see. we sat down in the back of the cafe and then he opened his mobile phone and he showed me a video clip that me even after 20 years of genocide research found very shocking.

this video is definitely a breakthrough for research on mass violence because of the, the intimate situation of killing that we see. the video shows victims whose hands are bound with their eyes and ears taped up with strips of blasting. in this scene, a man had to jump into the pit and was shot while still in the air. for on gore, the video was the beginning of his arduous and unsettling research. he and the colleague ask, who are the perpetrators who are the victims cleanser wanted persons claims the hero. we cannot reveal the sociologists, identity with her family live in syria. it could be dangerous for her and for her relatives if anyone recognizes her. so why take the risk bazillion and,

and i am serious, i believed as a society and i wanted to know why we could actually have such a brutal person. oh person out there like agents or agencies and what they have done. so i wanted to question as an academic, as a human and as a syrian in the spring of 2020, the sociologist started her research on the time and place of the crime. did it take place in the rebel area or in the territory of the assad regime? in the video, liberation of yada is written on the wall in arabic. yada is a town south of damascus. we saw di sentence it and on it and get a 50 kind of a we thought that happened in the elder. ah. but then when we ask locals on some of the d,

i n g o z reg working their full cut points of their and yours working there. they said it's not hilda. at 1st, the search for the location was just a dead end. and the date, according to the file name, the video was made on april 16th, 2013 by the spring of 2013, the war had been raging and syria for 2 years. young people's protests had developed into widespread demonstrations against the assad regime opposition. ists were conquering more and more ground. now, their ruler assad hit back ever harder. just a few months before the mass shooting from the video occurred, he spoke to his followers, describing any legitimate protest against his rule as an act of terrorism,

perpetrated from outside the country. witness, but we will not stop until we have stopped the last terrorist in theory. we will not stop what we have started in the door of theory, an artist running man to experience the iron will of the syrian president 1st hand . but now the artist lived in live search and can tell us about it at the beginning of the revolution in her early twenties. she too demonstrated against the regime her father, a well known lawyer campaigned in syria for those persecuted by assad for many and the opposition. he was a trusted figure, mission wage is on than feel, not just me, having lots of people feel safe when my father is around. but in october 2012, her father holly motto,

was arrested on his way to work. no trace of him has been found since to remember him. ronnie mont, who has painted this picture, runny also fell into the regimes clutches. she was imprisoned for several months in an intelligence agency jail. the branch as she calls it, no reason was given. right at the beginning, she experienced a brutal ritual. the so called welcoming party. does he happen to fasten? they tied me up and covered my eyes. at 1st he saw them when we reached the branch. and 1st of all, they just beat us to ask my dish. loudon, it's called a welcoming party. and many syrians know about this welcoming party. loiter can, there are no question common parties only countries flagged. and after

her release, she was able to flee to germany. unlike many other regime, critics whose fate like her father's remains unknown. back to amsterdam, after 3 months the sociologist finds an important clue. the graffiti of a palm tree on the wall leads her to the name of the artist who made it. he tells her that the location is in the district of her diamond south of damascus. there is a moth and a wedding home nearby. with the help of further experts, the sociologist is finally able to locate the place. for the neon researchers, a clear lead emerges whether the dream destroyed the whole neighborhood cause they they've lost the buildings. after into saw the

november 2012 showing that this was suitable to commit to the crime because it was empty into some of the not hurting. so what is remarkable is that the people that were executed were executed in a street in a, in an area that was almost always in control of the regime uncle and his colleague, wonder whether they can find out more about the suspected government forces. they decide to go one step further. they want to find out exactly who committed the deed the executioner can be seen very often in the video. who is he? a soldier, a police man? or from the intelligence agency? the sociologist researches which security forces were in the district of today's mon and spring 2013 an arduous search. the syrian intelligence agency

is everywhere. we figure out that it's joint agencies. they will have the guts or the intelligence, the see an intelligence military intelligence bashed to who under 227 in syria, there are 4 intelligence agencies, the political secret service, the general secret service, the air for secret service, and the military secret service. from here, neon researchers were able to reconstruct a direct chain of command to branch 227 and to the commander in the district of ta dominant m. at the live mental montana all the end in berlin note, i shall lottie is researching the syrian secret services. she also analyzes the role of agents during the syrian revolution. prior to the revolution, the intelligence agencies had penetrated society with surveillance, intimidation,

and even torture in prisons blue behind instantly. and what is the extent of the protests and demonstrations in 2011 caught the syrian intelligence agencies pretty much unawares, and he given eyes often they reverted to their old, tried and tested measures of repression and violence by it dealership behind the scenes, the syrian intelligence agency is unbelievably brutal and inhuman from up here and see from the survivors of torture fun. it might float, i believe it's utterly barbaric designed for casa, but who committed and filled this massacre? the sociologist and amsterdam searches for members of intelligence branch, $227.00 on social networks. then she finds this facebook profile a man showing off with his motorbike, who likes body building. obviously, an avid assad supporter. could this be the mass murderer?

my initial feeling was that i thought it was unbelievable. how is it possible that a killer who has committed such a horrific massacre has a facebook profile? that's my was my 1st thoughts, then i was a bit incredulous because i wanted to be absolutely sure that this was indeed individual that we were looking for. the researchers check personal details and compare facial features and are sure this is the man and the video. we deliberately mask his identity, although the perpetrator works for the intelligence agency, he himself could attract the attention of the sod regime. this was a momentous milestone for the researcher. i have many conflicting feeling. i was happy. at the same time,

i was nervous. who is he? how can i ever watch him? how should i approach such a killer with a fake identity? she contacts the man on facebook. will he reply, ah, and benefit psychologist, thank 9. our research is the consequences of war and torture for victims. but also for those who commit crimes such as child soldiers in africa, even for him, the video from damascus is very hard to watch. did 2 gun kind moment. they don't hesitate for one moment as they do it on shawn's hook . there isn't a trace of shame or guilt, no trace of hesitation and 2nd, and we see there is a lot of routine in what they do. it tuneless. it creates the impression that it's

not the 1st time they are doing. this was again more hide. they are used to what is happening here because he had but how can someone kill like this in cold blood? later, this is cancer. he thought, sadly, it's really the case that there's no governing human biological inhibitions when it comes to torturing or killing others. since on technicians to it, in certain situations, the people are able to do it and they're able to completely shut down their compassion for others. and the regime in the military. and these kinds of units all systematically break down this inhibition than systematic in march 2021, the perpetrator gets in touch directly from syria. here is a clip from the video chat.

hello you. hi, how are you? this is he was sad. when are you coming to syria? he was very friendly. he was a curious. ah, but you are suspicious as well. he wasn't ready. he had questions on the, as any of our agents intelligent intelligence agents and syria. why did you approach me? why do you call me now? why are you guiding through me? who are you? say? i said i am actually august search. i am. shouldn't want to to know about your experience in the war. i thought for 7 or 8 years, when i was on the front, i was in charge of one front. he doesn't say anything more specific than he

disappears in the summer. he calls back and says more. i killed a lot of people. i don't know how many on the killers facebook page the sociologist also find his superior, presumably a colonel of intelligence branch, 227. in the autumn of 2013, this man leads as cnn reporter to areas of south damascus, which were previously in rebel hands. a man, the assad regime obviously trusts the sociologist manages to get him talking to he praises his subordinate in the video hero among heroes. we have the right to kill people who attack and destroy our country. why bring them to me in jail, just to kill them? and might as well do it on the street in prison, i have to give them a number feed. they are a burden on the state, though it was seeing the video how easy it is for the main shooter to execute

dozens of people. and it is particularly this type of cold blooded unless that is necessary for the military intelligence to do to commit their tasks from their own perspective. it is logical that the boss called the main shooter hero ronnie, man took from lives. this does not know the shooter in the video, but she knows branch $227.00 of the syrian military intelligence service. it's where she was imprisoned for several weeks, crammed into a tiny space with other women. she was interrogated and beaten again and again. and she heard what happened to other prisoners, marbury fairly hurt him. i discovered that people could make sounds. i had never heard before. and so i'm fighting for their lives. i'm used to nuclear when someone was been suffocated by a plastic bag and you could draw or slowly dying by electric shock available

if the sounds are still in my head, mccarthy. according to the organisation syrian network for human rights and over 200000 civilians have been killed by the syrian regime and air raids, but also in murderers by the intelligence agency since 2011. during the damo massacre and april 2013, the bodies of over 40 people were thrown in the dugout pad. ah, one further video showed how the corpses were later burn with some tires. the researchers and amsterdam managed to identify several victims with the help of a list of missing persons and conversations with relatives in syria. ready the victims are aged between 20 and 55 women and men.

ready ready me there are some victims were in their pajamas, so they're most likely taken from their houses. what we know from 2013 is that there were so many checkpoints around syria of the intelligence where they would pick people out that were suspicious or that were considered to be suspicious or that were in any other way seen as a potential threat. never a real threat, but a potential threats to the regime at the end of november, the sophie ologist in amsterdam contact the damascus perpetrators again. ringback they exchange text messages. the man is extremely wary, which is why she had hesitated to confront him directly with the video. now, she takes the plunge, and i shot the video at the beginning. he said, is it me?

wildly. then he, peter, i said yes, it's you. and he said, i'm a soldier. i see, i will be over there. but smiting. he played down his crimes, saying they were orders from the top. how far at the top, the researchers from the ne odd institute have analyzed the connections within the power apparatus and detail. they see the ruler assad as being directly responsible . he appoints the heads of the intelligence agency. there are a number of chains between the actual shooter and present us himself. and it's not that many of them. there's no doubt that these perpetrators have not only linked to the onset regime, but they are the regime in england, in, in the intelligence agency. not much happens without the president knowledge. i don't know if reporting goes to the top of the hierarchy because they report to the

president and within the secret services, there is a very strict hierarchy. so it's really a top down government which means that the assad regime is directly responsible for the mass shooting and april 2013 we confronted the syrian embassy and berlin with an extensive list of questions. what do they know about the mass shooting of innocent civilians and 2013 in southern damascus, where the perpetrator is punished. but we received no answer. ah, and syria, the assad regime allows crimes such as those seen in the video to go unpunished. alarm decrees wide ranging immunity for intelligence staff. assad does not recognize institutions such as the international criminal court in the hague, therefore, evading possible criminal proceedings. their carla de bon de, is

a former chief prosecutor of the icpc and was later a member of a un investigative committee on crimes and syria. before she resigned, frustrated, the swiss lawyer says that there was never a lack of evidence, but there was a lack of political will to bring the sod regime before the court. the video of the dom and massacre is no surprise to her. she has seen similar films from other wars, often recorded by the perpetrators themselves in dallas stuff, enough. they are all proud of what they've done. that's why they film it out as this is everyday life in the warranty, syria styles. it's unbelievable. glad. legally speaking, the video and the crime that documents is an invaluable piece of evidence. right, so i just said that it sounds cynical, but evidence like this is brilliant. these that have been this,

this piece of evidence would certainly be a good basis for a solid investigation in the long own. one could prepare an indictment and go to court with forgetting income could feed. and of course, it will be good for syria if germany opened, preliminary proceeding from the shit. germany did in fact hold a trial of global note recently and cobblins to syrian intelligence agents were sentenced to long prison sentences for torture and murder. the principle of universal jurisdiction makes this possible. germany is one of the few countries to widely exercise this principle and can proceed against crimes committed on another state's territory. if the perpetrators are in germany for the committee of the dom and massacre, an international arrest warrant would be conceivable. we ask the investigators responsible of the office of the federal public prosecutor in causal. we discover that they already know about the video, but the authority is keeping

a low profile and public. they only make statements pertaining to arrests or indictments. meanwhile, and amsterdam, the sociologist and we're on guar, assumed that there are more videos like this. they suspect that they were filmed by the perpetrators themselves because the regime, systematically documents such crimes. until recently the sociologist was in contact with the ta, domlyn killer. she tells us about a clear message that he gave her so you threaten me, actually, you have your father, you will be there to get that. you talk to me threats which do not intimidate her when the researcher is finally published to their work that her dom on crimes are reported on throughout the arab world. the original video where several of the victims can be recognized, turns up on social media. for some of the families,

this brings a shocking certainty, all even several 1000 kilometers away in germany, in the rhine mine region, i c home and omar, i fled from syria. now the war in their homeland has caught up with them. a friend has sent them the video. ready in the video, the parents and 2 daughters recognise a man, they have sorely missed for a long time. their son and brother wa seem really 34 years old at the time. in the video, he's wearing a white t shirt and blue trouser hurdle bumped along these trousers he's wearing. i gave them to him and i recognize his face. and

bob, i am a mother and i know my son, that is my son. and all that was seen at his wedding in 2005 a cheerful, happy man. the family tell us that their son himself a father of 2 daughters, worked in a cement factory and in the family bakeries on april 14th, $2132.00 days before the dom and massacre wa, seems suddenly disappeared. they still don't know why. why seem was never politically active business? his father tries to reconstruct the day of his son's disappearance wa, seems set off in the early morning from their house in yarmouth, the palestinian quarter, as a government contractor. he was transporting flour to a state run bakery in the neighboring district of ta dominic. there are several checkpoints along the way. oh,

here is the intelligence checkpoint about us. and here's the bakery. he unloaded the flower and suddenly it was no longer possible to reach wa, seem. they asked about him everywhere. the militia, the intelligence agency, but with no success. the family thought that was seam had ended up in prison 9 in the scene, but my brother was seen means a lot to me. it is my of the i always hope that he would get out even if he wasn't in the best of health anymore. i miss the good, but we never gave a poem and he had not for 10 years. you hope no go home yet their son and brother was probably one of many arbitrary victims of the sod regime. now the sea arms are demanding accountability and justice as are these syrians and berlin. shortly after that,

her dom and massacre became well known. they put up these photos of their disappeared. they represent the many thousands of deaths for which the regime is responsible. and president assad. after the publication of the video, he decreed on unusual general amnesty prisoners incarcerated. due to a legend, terrorism should be released as long as they have not killed any one. but there was no word regarding the possible punishment of the todd dom on perpetrators. i find it very important that european countries where there are so many syrians that afflict to it, take seriously the violence of the asset regime. and what is the value of the word never again. if we allow a killer like this and his entire institution, plot his bosses to continue to commit this type of violence.

oh, a several did in the right wing extremists women's rights progressed, and again, wild must be a couple of wait and burned in south africa. people with disabilities more likely to lose their jobs independent, make black lives matter. shine a spotlight on racially motivated police violence, same sex marriage is being legalized in more and more countries, discrimination and inequality, or part of everyday life. for many, we ask why? because life is diversity. to make up your own mind in d. w. lead for mines. ah

ah ah ah, this is dw is coming to live from berlin. a historic nathan summit is under way and madrid. leaders are set to expand the alliance and boost its capacity. they, those chief says it's facing the biggest challenge since world war to bring you the latest from the summit. also coming up accusations of war.