The report, titled “Syria war crimes evidence,” consisting of examples from among 55,000 photographs of 11,000 bodies taken over two years by an Assad regime officer over, became breaking news across the globe after being published at 9 p.m. Ankara time (1900GMT) under the byline of AA Director General Kemal Ozturk's.
After the report's release, news channels across Turkey halted their regular programs to broadcast the news, which was also splashed across the front page of Turkish daily newspapers, including Hurriyet, Haberturk, Yeni Safak, Aksam, Star, Vatan, Taraf and Sabah, which alluded to genocide and execution, casting the crimes as the atrocity of the century.
European media, as well, covered the story widely in various languages.
In the United Kingdom, the documents were placed in the spotlight by the Independent newspaper and the BBC, whose website headlined “Syria accused of torture and 11,000 executions.” The Guardian likewise said the evidence “spurs call for war crimes charges.”
France's Le Monde newspaper cast the photographs as proof of the regime being a “killing machine.” German Deutsche-Welle said on its website that the report holds Syria responsible for systematic torture and executions.
In the Netherlands, De Volkskrant headlined “Industrial mass killings in Syria," while the Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation provided details on how the photographs, taken between 2011-2013, were obtained by the opposition.
The report also was given wide play in the United States, including in Time magazine and USA Today, which referred to the reports by CNN International and the Guardian.
CNN ran its package under the headline, “Gruesome Syria photos may prove torture by Assad regime.” The network referred to a report by esteemed prosecutors and forensic experts who concluded there is "direct evidence" of "systematic torture and killing" by the Assad regime.
NBC News said the position of the Syrian regime could be weakened during the Geneva II conference set to begin Wednesday in Switzerland, if the authenticity of the report and photographs is verified.
In addition, the war crimes documents were widely covered in the Arabic press, such as the London-based Al-Hayat and Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspapers, as well as Al Jazeera and Al-Arabiya.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
