Since the beginning of Syria’s uprising in 2011, tens of thousands of people were disappeared into detention centers run by the Assad regime’s notorious mukhabarat — the secret police and intelligence agencies. Detainees were held without trial, tortured, and often never seen again. Survivors who managed to escape told harrowing stories of beatings, starvation, electric shocks, and worse. But for years, the full scale of the cruelty remained hidden, impossible to quantify, and easy for governments to deny.

That changed in 2013.

Over two years, “Caesar” photographed and archived more than 50,000 images… of people who had suffered unspeakable torture.

A defector from the Syrian military police, code-named Caesar, escaped Syria with tens of thousands of photographs, copied and smuggled out at great personal risk and with the assistance of a network of human rights activists. As an official forensic photographer, Caesar had been assigned to document bodies of detainees who died in custody. What he exposed was a vast, bureaucratic system of torture and death.

Over two years, “Caesar” photographed and archived more than 50,000 images—many showing the broken, emaciated bodies of people who had suffered unspeakable torture. Stored on discs and thumb drives, the photographs captured an unfiltered view of systemic, state-sponsored violence.

What began as one man’s silent witnessing inside Syria’s military morgues quickly grew into a collective act of resistance. As the Assad regime escalated its repression, the Caesar team realized that this mission was bigger than any one person. Gathering the photographs took longer than anyone anticipated. The dangers multiplied. To protect both the files and the people involved, the effort expanded.

By the end of 2011, a network of courageous individuals now known as the Caesar Files Team were working in secret to advance this work.

We still do not fully know why the Assad regime documented these deaths with such care. Caesar himself once said he believed the regime “documents everything so that it will forget nothing.” Perhaps it was a warning to others, or it was a record for internal review.

Regardless of the reason, these images became undeniable evidence—used by international investigators, human rights advocates, and Syrian families to demand justice.

 For them, the photographs were not just evidence. They were a way to break through the regime’s wall of secrecy and lies.

For families of the missing, Caesar’s photographs were often the only proof of what had happened to their loved ones. After years of silence, denials, and unanswered questions, the images gave some families a terrible kind of closure—confirmation that their sons, fathers, sisters had not vanished without a trace. Many Syrian families searched the files with dread, sometimes recognizing a scar, a piece of clothing, or a prisoner number. For them, the photographs were not just evidence. They were a way to break through the regime’s wall of secrecy and lies.

At the Center for Victims of Torture, we know that documentation from survivors is a powerful tool for both healing and justice and accountability. Torture thrives in the darkness. Caesar’s photographs speak for those who did not survive, and demand not only that we hold governments accountable, but that we ourselves need to bear witness.

We also know what it took for the Caesar team to expose this system. Members of the team faced lethal threats to themselves and their families. One relative was killed in retribution. They chose this dangerous path not for recognition, but because they believed the world needed to see the truth.

And the world still needs to see it.

In 2025, torture remains a global crisis. Though the Assad regime fell in late 2024, authoritarian regimes continue to use detention and abuse to silence dissent. And in Syria today, the survivors—and the families of the missing—continue to suffer long after their release.

Caesar’s photographs were never meant to be seen. But once they were, they changed what was possible. They helped make it harder for the world to look away. And they remain a rallying cry for justice, accountability, and healing.

That rallying cry has not faded—and neither has the work of those who carried it forward.

The Caesar Files Team is an extraordinary group of human rights activists who helped smuggle the Caesar files out of Syria. Together, they catalogued the 50,000+ photographs, verified victims’ identities, secured the integrity of the data, and have worked closely with international investigators to build legal cases for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Their painstaking efforts ensure that Caesar’s evidence isn’t just seen—it is used. In courtrooms and advocacy campaigns, in official inquiries and survivor testimony, the team’s work has been a driving force in the global push for accountability.

The Center for Victims of Torture is honored to recognize their courageous work and vital contributions to the human rights community with the 2025 Eclipse Award. Their example reminds us that justice is a collective effort. And that in the face of brutality, truth—protected, shared, and used—can become a form of resistance.

To learn more about the Caesar Files team and CVT’s work with Syrian survivors, register for Courageous Voices, a virtual fundraising event, on June 26^th, 2025.

CVT is honored to recognize the work of the entire Caesar Files Team, including: 

Ussama “Sami” Uthman, Executive Director 

Ayman Chamo, Chair of the Board 

Mashaal Hamoud, Board Member 

Mohammad Hasan, Board Member

Issa

Khawla

Ammar