In the fall of 2018, top Syrian leaders convened at Bashar al-Assad's presidential palace to discuss strategies for concealing leaks regarding mass graves and torture facilities, according to two individuals briefed on the meeting. The meeting, held at the palace overlooking Damascus, involved the heads of Syrian security agencies who arrived in convoys of black S.U.V.s.
One proposal that emerged from the meeting, according to these sources, was to erase the identities of Syrians who died in secret prisons from official records. Kamal Hassan, who ran an arm of Syria's security apparatus, allegedly suggested this measure to eliminate any paper trail.
The details of this meeting are the result of a year-long investigation by reporters who combed through thousands of pages of documents and interviewed dozens of former Assad-era officials. The investigation sheds light on alleged efforts to cover up crimes committed by the Assad regime.
The Syrian government has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding these allegations.
The accusations come amid ongoing international scrutiny of the Syrian government's human rights record throughout the Syrian civil war. Pictures of missing Syrians were displayed on a monument in a public square in Damascus last January, highlighting the ongoing concerns of families seeking information about their loved ones.
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