A Syrian boy is held by the hand as he walks past the body of a beheaded Islamic militant loyal to Assad. An unnamed photojournalist was given rare access to the public execution in the town of Keferghan in the north of the country
A group of young children sit on a wall as they stare at the dead body
The public execution was the last of four that took place on August 31 in the town of Keferghan in the north of the country.
The picture forms part of a set taken by a photojournalist - whose identity has not been revealed in order to protect him - who was given unprecedented access to the gruesome proceedings.
Among the other photos are an executioner lining up his sword before delivering the final blow as his victim kneels in the village square - and a victim's head being held aloft by a jubilant fighter.
Although it is difficult to confirm the political affiliation of those involved, an eyewitness told Time that the executioners belonged to ISIS - an Al-Qaeda faction opposed to President Bashar Assad's regime
The captives are understood to belong to the fearsome Shabiha ('ghosts') - thugs loyal to Assad who are said to roam the country massacring women and children
'The man was brought in to the square. His eyes were blindfolded. I began shooting pictures, one after the other. It was to be the fourth execution that day I would photograph. I was feeling awful; several times I had been on the verge of throwing up.
But I kept it under control because as a journalist I knew I had to document this, as I had the three previous beheadings I had photographed that day, in three other locations outside Aleppo.
The crowd began cheering. Everyone was happy. I knew that if I tried to intervene I would be taken away, and that the executions would go ahead. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to change what was happening and I might put myself in danger.
I saw a scene of utter cruelty: a human being treated in a way that no human being should ever be treated. But it seems to me that in two and a half years, the war has degraded people’s humanity. On this day the people at the execution had no control over their feelings, their desires, their anger. It was impossible to stop them.
A Syrian boy is held by the hand as he walks past the body of a beheaded Islamic militant loyal to Assad. An unnamed photojournalist was given rare access to the public execution in the town of Keferghan in the north of the country
A group of young children sit on a wall as they stare at the dead body
The public execution was the last of four that took place on August 31 in the town of Keferghan in the north of the country.
The picture forms part of a set taken by a photojournalist - whose identity has not been revealed in order to protect him - who was given unprecedented access to the gruesome proceedings.
Among the other photos are an executioner lining up his sword before delivering the final blow as his victim kneels in the village square - and a victim's head being held aloft by a jubilant fighter.
Although it is difficult to confirm the political affiliation of those involved, an eyewitness told Time that the executioners belonged to ISIS - an Al-Qaeda faction opposed to President Bashar Assad's regime
The captives are understood to belong to the fearsome Shabiha ('ghosts') - thugs loyal to Assad who are said to roam the country massacring women and children
'The man was brought in to the square. His eyes were blindfolded. I began shooting pictures, one after the other. It was to be the fourth execution that day I would photograph. I was feeling awful; several times I had been on the verge of throwing up.
But I kept it under control because as a journalist I knew I had to document this, as I had the three previous beheadings I had photographed that day, in three other locations outside Aleppo.
The crowd began cheering. Everyone was happy. I knew that if I tried to intervene I would be taken away, and that the executions would go ahead. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to change what was happening and I might put myself in danger.
I saw a scene of utter cruelty: a human being treated in a way that no human being should ever be treated. But it seems to me that in two and a half years, the war has degraded people’s humanity. On this day the people at the execution had no control over their feelings, their desires, their anger. It was impossible to stop them.
No comments:
Post a Comment