Testimony of Syrian ‘Gravedigger’ at German Court Rivals Horrors of Nazi Crimes
Tuesday September 15th, 2020 by ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (London-based, pan-Arab daily)
A man who worked as a gravedigger for the Syrian regime has delivered a harrowing testimony to a court in Germany reports Asharq Al-Awsat.
The “gravedigger’s” testimony at the Syrian war crimes trial in Germany created shock in the courtroom as he gave his horrific account of crimes committed by the regime. The grisly details brought to mind the familiar horrors of Nazi crimes, leaving the courtroom reeling.
The “gravedigger”, whose identity remains concealed at the hearing, said he continues to be haunted by the mass graves he dug for the victims killed by the Syrian regime during the nearly decade-long conflict. One image that has been etched in his memory is that of a deceased, woman who was still hugging her dead child, whom he lowered into a mass grave in Damascus.
Recalling such horrors, the witness broke down in tears before the court. The presiding judge at the Koblenz court adjourned the session until he could collect himself. Once resumed, the “gravedigger” recalled another horrific image, that of a man piled onto hundreds or even thousands of corpses, who was still breathing. The supervising Syrian officer noticed that he was still alive and ordered the vehicle that was digging up the grave to run him over, turning him into yet another corpse in the mass grave.
