Syria
Poisoned Chalice
After Syria’s Daraa fell to regime forces in 2018, at least 24 people, including former rebel commanders, civilians and two children, were poisoned in assassination attempts tied to Assad's intelligence branches.
The Writing on the Wall
Syria's first major trial of deposed regime figures ended in nine death sentences, including for Bashar and Maher al-Assad and Atef Najib, who ran the Political Security branch in Daraa in 2011. Survivors of the Daraa schoolboy arrests testified. Rights groups called the proceedings historic but flawed.
Listen Again: How Defiance Began at Home in Assad’s Syria
Loubna Mrie joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss her experience of authoritarianism at home, obedience to the Assad regime, and joining the revolution, as detailed in her new memoir, “Defiance.”
Unmasking Two Butchers of Quneitra
A pioneering investigation has confirmed the identities of two officers in Bashar al-Assad’s army who were responsible for a massacre in Syria’s Quneitra in 2013. But the families of the victims are still struggling for justice.
Syrians Queue for Fuel as Iraqi Oil Flows Past Them
As gas stations across Syria ran dry, thousands of Iraqi tankers were crossing the country daily on Iraq's new western export route, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz. A journey along the road from the eastern border to the coast reveals how the abundance and shortage are connected.
How Power Corrupts Those Who Seek It
Journalists Chloe Hadjimatheou and Sarah Dadouch join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss what the story of former Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad reveals about power and the people who wield it.
Former Detainees in Syria’s Northeast Tell of Trumped-Up Accusations and Torture
As Syria's new state works through a backlog of detainee cases, hundreds who were imprisoned by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been released, including children. But some families are still waiting.