Columbia Journalism Review: The spy who came in from the code

[tabatha]

How a filmmaker accidentally gave up his sources to Syrian spooks

At the time, the situation in Syria was deteriorating rapidly, as protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s repressive regime turned violent following a vicious crackdown by security forces. The Syrian government had drastically curtailed visits by foreign journalists, but McAllister had managed to get in undercover. Kardokh was grateful for a chance to tell his story. “Any journalist who was making the effort to show the world what was happening, that was a very important thing for us,” he told me in February.

At the time, Kardokh was providing computer expertise and secure communications to the resistance. He agreed to be interviewed about his work on camera by McAllister, who filmed his face, telling Kardokh that he would blur it out before publishing the footage. McAllister also asked Kardokh to put him in touch with other activists.
...


Then, in October, McAllister was arrested by Syrian security agents. He wasn’t harmed, but was held for five days and said that he could hear the cries of prisoners being tortured in nearby rooms. Eventually, he was released and returned to the UK. “I didn’t realize exactly what they were risking until I went into that experience,” McAllister said in an interview on Channel 4 after his release.

The Syrians had interrogated McAllister about his activities, and seized his laptop, mobile phone, camera, and footage. All of McAllister’s research was now at the disposal of Syrian intelligence. When Kardokh heard that McAllister had been arrested, he didn’t hesitate—he turned off his mobile phone, packed his bag, and fled Damascus, staying with relatives in a nearby town before escaping to Lebanon. He said that other activists who had been in touch with McAllister fled the country as well, and several of those who didn’t were arrested. “I was happy that I hadn’t put him in contact with more people,” Kardokh said.

http://www.cjr.org/feature/the_spy_who_came_in_from_the_c.php?page=1

[Blue_Tires]

1. Scary how ahead of the curve Syria and some other repressive places have been

In using hacker tech to track down dissidents...Seems like the hacker/surveillance firms can't sell this stuff fast enough...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/07/surveillance-technology-repressive-regimes

[Octafish]

2. Maybe those being tortured by Syria were being tortured on our behalf.

That is, "our" being the "USA."

Stephen Grey: Syria appears to have been a particular target for rendition until around 2003 (when the U.S. and Syria fell out over the Iraq war). Even before that date, the U.S. was condemning the Syrian regime in strong terms for its human rights abuses.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/11/01/DI2007110101583.html

[tabatha]

3. Probably not.

Within days of his inauguration, President Obama signed an Executive Order opposing rendition torture and establishing a task force to provide recommendations about processes to prevent rendition torture.[18]

[Octafish]

4. Thanks!

It was a different group of Syrian torture victims.

The torturers, though, I bet lots of them were still the same.

[tabatha]

5. It is atrocious.

Torture of the child martyr: 'Rebel', 13, shot, kneecapped and had genitals removed before being killed by Syria's sadistic regime
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392684/Hamza-Ali-al-Khateeb-child-martyr-tortured-death-Syrias-sadistic-regime.html

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqqyq2_syrian-torture-victim-speaks-to-al-jazeera_news

[Octafish]

6. That is evil, no matter who does it.

Killing innocent people -- children, no matter what age or generation -- is evil, whether based on politics (the power of the state) or greed (the power of the plutocrat).



BTW, my Friend: All of us are children, inside. That child's story is heartbreaking. In a democracy, whether a constitutional republic or a constitutional monarchy, that would not be possible.