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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

Thank you, Michael. Good to hear from you.

Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

This is one (yes, one) of the villas of Ghassan Bilal, a former major general and a central figure in the regime's state-sponsored Captagon trade. Like many homes of Assad-era elites, it is now in the hands of the new government — and being prepared for a new occupant.

A large modern villa with cream-colored stone walls and wooden accents, shown from the backyard. A curved swimming pool with a built-in hot tub sits in the foreground, surrounded by lounge chairs and deck seating. Tall trees and dense greenery border the property.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

We traveled to Syria multiple times to meet with experts and sources, knock on doors and visit the hometowns of the former officials. Most of the men were gone, but their opulent homes remained, each telling a different story of the regime's chaotic fall. I'll share a few.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

In total, more than 13,000 documents were photographed in Syria by Times reporters and freelance journalist Lynzy Billing. She worked with many other media on another big story involving these documents: observer.co.uk/style/featur....

How a western charity helped the Syrian regime abduct chi...

Hundreds of children were kidnapped by the state and placed in orphanages during the Syrian civil war. One charity, SOS International, helped disappear t...

observer.co.uk

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

Similarly, we spoke to Kamal al-Hassan, last head of military intelligence under Assad, via Telegram. He wouldn't divulge his location. He did recount his escape under fire, said he was sheltered at a “diplomatic mission” before fleeing Syria, corroborating someone else's story.

A block of text describing Bassam al-Hassan’s escape. It says he was wounded in a gunfight with rebels while trying to leave his home in a Damascus suburb formerly called Qura al-Assad, or “Assad’s Villages,” where regime elites lived in lavish villas. It explains he hid from house to house before eventually reaching the Russian Embassy, which took him in.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

Phone numbers proved crucial, both for identifying online accounts and making direct contact. For instance, we reached Bassam Hassan via a Lebanese WhatsApp number. He declined an interview. There’s a French arrest warrant for him, but he’s in Beirut speaking with CIA officials.

A grainy photo of a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, resting his hand on his chin and looking to the side. The caption beneath reads: “A rare photo of Bassam Hassan, a key figure in the Assad regime.” Below the image is an article excerpt describing his movements through Lebanon and Iran, his later return to Beirut, and that he declined to give an interview when contacted.

A news article titled “Syrian General Questioned in Case of Missing American,” with the subheadline stating that Bassam Hassan is believed to have shared grim news about the fate of missing journalist Austin Tice. Below the headline is a black-and-white photo of Austin Tice smiling, displayed on a poster. Next to it, his parents are seated at a press conference table with microphones in front of them.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

An example of an offline breadcrumb: signatures. We photographed thousands of documents in Syria. Take Mohammed Kanjou al-Hassan, for instance, a military prosecutor. We could match his signature, and see he ordered to keep info from families of detainees who were killed.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

One small digital breadcrumb involves Aous Aslan, implicated in mass killings and violent crackdowns. Sources said he was in Russia, and we found supporting traces — including his wife creating a Duolingo account and beginning Russian lessons in March. nytimes.com/interactive/...

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

This work opened new doors, allowing us more easily trace some former officials' presence online. We scoured funeral announcement for names of family members and collected email and physical addresses.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

Despite facing sanctions, some of these individuals were rarely, if ever, seen or photographed in public, making it much easier for them to move under the radar. An example: Bassam Hassan, one of Assad's most senior henchmen, has long been misidentified. nytimes.com/video/world/...

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

More Syrian civil society groups and NGOs that provided research and expertise were the Syrian Center, Anwar al Bounni, Nidal Shikhani, Violations Documentation Center in Syria, and Muhsen AlMustafa. bsky.app/profile/trbr...

Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

We gathered background info on these officials by referencing reporting from media outlets and nongovernmental organizations.

We gathered background information on these officials by referencing reporting from media outlets and nongovernmental organizations, including Syrian Free Press, Zaman Al Wasl, the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison and Pro Justice.

The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre and the Syrian Archive shared internal research with The Times that tracked which individuals held certain roles throughout the war. These databases allowed us to narrow our focus to those at the highest levels of responsibility.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

We identified 9 flashpoints that were emblematic of the regime in terms of scale, brutality, and repercussions, from the killing of peaceful protesters to chemical weapons attacks. Determining the senior-most officials linked to all of these allowed us to narrow the list to 55.

Vertical timeline labeled ‘See those associated with,’ listing Syrian conflict events by year: 2011 Killing of teenage boy sparks uprising; 2012 Barrel bombs terrorize Aleppo; 2012 Massacres throughout Damascus; 2013 Ghouta chemical attack; 2014 Caesar torture files; 2016 Battle for Aleppo; 2019 Bombing of a surgical hospital; 2020 Assad’s captagon empire; 2024 Horrors of Sednaya prison.

Article segment dated April 29, 2011 titled ‘Killing of teenage boy sparks uprising,’ describing the arrest, torture, and death of 13-year-old Hamza al-Khateeb in Daraa. Below the text are profiles of Louay al-Ali and Abdul Salam Mahmoud, each with Arabic names, descriptions of alleged roles in civilian repression, and small portrait placeholders marked ‘Location Unknown.’

Article segment dated Jan. 21, 2014 titled ‘Caesar torture files,’ explaining leaked photos of over 6,600 bodies revealing torture by Syrian intelligence agencies. Beneath are profiles of Yassin Dahi, Jamil Hassan, and Ghassan Ismail, each with Arabic names, accusations of overseeing detention and execution of civilians, and portrait thumbnails labeled ‘Location Unknown.’

Article segment dated May 5, 2019 titled ‘Bombing of a surgical hospital,’ describing an airstrike on a medical facility in Kafr Nabl, Idlib, by the Syrian military with prior Russian strikes. Below are profiles of Ali Ayyoub (location known: Russia), Ahmed Baloul, and Malik Hasan, each listed with Arabic names, roles in airstrikes or violence, and portrait thumbnails labeled with location status.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

We prioritized individuals with ties to the military, intelligence and Syria's chemical weapons program and excluded those facing sanctions primarily for financial/administrative roles. That still left hundreds of names.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 2h

We gathered background info on these officials by referencing reporting from media outlets and nongovernmental organizations.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 3h

As we embarked on this investigation, we immediately faced a challenge: whom to focus on when so many played a role. We began with those that were sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 9h

We sifted through official docs, chasing leads on the ground by knocking on doors, and interviewing dozens: ex-regime folks, relatives, staff, foreign officials, legal experts. Some Assad henchmen have come into clearer focus, others remain enigmas, so our reporting continues.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 9h

After Assad's fall in December and with accountability looming, most of these officials fled or hid. Rumors swirled in their wake, leading to many dead ends. But in some cases, these clues brought us directly to their doorsteps.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 9h

The story above is the first installment of our ongoing reporting project on Assad's key enforcers — those who oversaw torture, directed massacres, and ordered chemical attacks. Just a few of the hooros of the civil war that left half a million people dead.

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Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 9h

We did find the wife of one top official (who we heard may be in Russia now) starting a Duolingo account and learning Russian, amongst other things, yes.

Christiaan Triebert @trbrtc.bsky.social · 10h

When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in Syria, many of the officials who enabled and enforced his brutal regime disappeared. Our reporting uncovers who they are, what they did and where they fled. nyti.ms/3J1W5Cs

The Vanishing Act: How Assad’s Top Henchmen Fled Syria, and Justice

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Christiaan Triebert

Reade Levinson @readelev.bsky.social · 20d

On Aug 25, Israeli defense forces attacked a Gaza hospital, killing our colleague Hussam al-Masri. We spent the last few weeks reviewing footage and interviewing witnesses. The visual evidence contradicts Israel’s official story.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Visual evidence upends Israel’s official story for deadly attack on Gaza hospital

Israeli troops say they targeted a Hamas camera in an August strike, but a Reuters investigation found the device belonged to one of the news agency’s journalists. An Israeli official now says troops fired without required approval. The five journalists who died in the strike are among 200 killed by Israel that it has yet to fully explain.

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Christiaan Triebert

Dutch_OsintGuy @dutchosintguy.bsky.social · Aug 22

New Blog: Most people doing #OSINT aren’t doing OSINT.
They’re just Googling with extra steps, screenshotting dashboards, and calling it “intelligence.”

That’s not tradecraft. That’s cosplay.

Let’s talk about what OSINT is not: www.dutchosintguy.com/post/stop-ca...

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Reposted by Christiaan Triebert

Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · Sep 16

"As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald."

Erica Ifill @wickdchiq.bsky.social · Sep 16

So…they’re disappearing people. This is all just ticking along as expected. Now I know how the junta in Argentina lasted so long

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site

As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.

www.miamiherald.com

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Reposted by Christiaan Triebert

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · Sep 9

Reports of an attack, allegedly by a drone, on a vessel in the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), while anchored outside the port of Sidi Bou Said in Tunisia. The below video shows the moment of the incident. Keep it in mind when you read the next post. www.instagram.com/reel/DOXaR_M...

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Reposted by Christiaan Triebert

Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · Sep 9

I've synced this video that shows Miguel Duarte, one of the key eyewitnesses looking up as the incendiary material drops from the sky.

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