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A Syrian gravedigger whose testimony helped secure the conviction of two Assad officials in the first international trial on Syrian state torture has...
A Syrian gravedigger whose testimony helped secure the conviction of two Assad officials in the first international trial on Syrian state torture has spoken exclusively to Middle East Eye after revealing his identity.Muhammad Afif Nafieh was forced to dig mass graves for authorities under Bashar al-Assad from 2011 until early 2018 when he fled with his family to Germany.He testified against Syrian officials convicted of crimes against humanity in a German court in Koblenz, and has also shared his experiences with the US Congress, on the sidelines of the United National General Assembly, and at the British Foreign Office.Speaking to MEE last week, Nafieh described a relentless seven-day working week in which he oversaw the burial of an increasing stream of bodies.It would last seven years. The bodies were frequently delivered in 16-metre refrigerator trucks, which could carry up to 400 corpses at a time, and showed signs of torture.Watch the full interview on YouTube. | Middle East Eye