The Guardian
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The European parliament has ruled against holding a major public exhibition of photographs documenting torture and abuse in Syrian government institutions, deeming the images too provocative, “disturbing and offensive”, the Guardian has learned.
The MEPs have decided that the photographs, smuggled out of Syria at great risk by a defector from the Assad regime codenamed Caesar, may only be shown at an undetermined future date in a small conference room on the parliament’s grounds. However, few people are likely to see it there and will not be endorsed by the organisation, even though the exhibition and its horrifying images were officially hosted by the United Nations.
A diplomatic source familiar with the discussions told the Guardian: “These photos are a powerful reminder of the systematic torture and mass killings ongoing in Syria – the very least the European parliament can do is bear witness.
“The suggestion that a photo exhibition should be hidden away in a committee room is unheard of, and seriously calls into question the judgment of those responsible for this decision.”
The UN in March hosted an exhibition of 30 photographs out of some 55,000 smuggled by Caesar, a former military photographer who fled the country with the evidence stashed on flash drives. Though warning signs were placed around the exhibition, officials at the time said it was imperative the international community did not “look away” from the atrocities, documented in Syrian government prisons and hospitals.
The war in Syria, now in its fifth year, has claimed more than 220,000 lives.
The spokesperson said the parliament’s public exhibition areas could only host cultural events and exhibits. But correspondence seen by the Guardian showed that MEPs rejected the planned photographs because they were deemed “offensive and disturbing” as well as “provocative”.A European parliament spokesperson confirmed that the College of Quaestors, a body of five MEPs that rules on such matters, had unanimously voted against hosting the photographs in the large exhibition space with its thousands of visitors.
The parliament hosts an annual commemorative event and exhibit on the Holocaust.
Organisers suggested removing some of the more graphic images and to open the exhibition during limited time slots, but the College of Quaestors refused, according to the diplomatic source.
The parliament has also told organisers that it would not officially endorse the exhibition, which was originally scheduled to run for five days but will now only last one day if it goes ahead, the source said.
Mouaffaq Nyrabia, the opposition Syrian National Coalition’s representative to the EU, said in a statement: “The series of photographs taken by the Syrian regime defector ‘Caesar’ present clear and compelling evidence – endorsed by the UN – of Assad’s systematic campaign of murder and torture, and are important testimony to the suffering of Syrians at the hands of this brutal dictatorship.”
He added: “This is why I urge the European parliament to turn its words of support on the protection of human rights in Syria into action, starting with providing full access to exhibit a small number of the ‘Caesar’ photographs.
“The situation in Syria is now a global crisis, whose impact upon Europe has repeatedly been made clear. Europe can and must play a more proactive role in achieving a political transition in Syria, and accountability must be central to these efforts.”
Alyn Smith, a Scottish National party MEP and the lead sponsor of the exhibition, said hosting it at a meeting room was a “decent compromise” given the sensitive nature of the photographs, and the fact that it would be hosted on the European parliament’s grounds.
“I think it’s really important for parliament to host that exhibition,” he said. “We must not close our eyes to the fact that this is happening.”
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