Syrian equestrian champion tells of 21-year prison ordeal after beating Bashar al Assad’s brother in competition
A Syrian former equestrian champion has told how he was jailed and tortured for 21 years after he beat Bashar al Assad’s older brother in a competition.
Adnan Kassar, once a celebrated figure in the country’s sports scene, spoke to Sky News about his ordeal for the first time following the fall of the Assad family regime‘s more than 50-year rule.
He won multiple gold medals and captained the national equestrian team in the late 1980s, with his career peaking in 1993 at the third International Equestrian Championship in Latakia, where his flawless performance secured victory for the team.
Mr Kassar was a close friend of Bassel al Assad but the achievement apparently drew the ire of his fellow equestrian, who had faltered during the competition.
Bassel was the heir apparent to the Syrian presidency before his death in a car crash in 1994 led to his brother Bashar al Assad‘s return from London, where he worked as an eye doctor, to be trained to take over when his father died.
Adnan Kassar (left) with Bassel al Assad
“The crowd lifted me on their shoulders. It was a moment of pure joy, but for Bassel, it wasn’t the same. That day marked the beginning of my nightmare,” he said.
Shortly after the event, Mr Kassar was arrested over vague accusations, which he said were fabricated as a result of Bassel’s resentment.
He told how his detention turned into a prolonged ordeal marked by brutal interrogations and years of physical and psychological abuse.
“I was kept underground for six months, beaten constantly, and interrogated without end,” he said.
He was then transferred to the notorious Sednaya Prison, dubbed the “human slaughterhouse”, where he said “the torture only got worse”.
Former Syrian President Hafez al Assad, his wife Aniseh, sons Maher, Bashar, Bassel, Majd and daughter Bushra (standing, L-R). Pic: Sana/Reuters
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Mr Kassar said his treatment became even more severe after Bassel died.
“They blamed me for his death,” he said. “Every year on the anniversary of his passing, the torture intensified.”
He was also held for seven-and-a-half years at Tadmur Prison, which is also infamous for its inhumane conditions.
“They pierced my ear one morning and broke my jaw in the evening,” he recalled, saying acts as simple as praying were met with extreme punishment.
“For praying, they lashed me 1,000 times. My feet were torn apart, my bones exposed,” he said.
Many activists repeatedly raised his case following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, which demanded the end of the Assad family rule.
But despite international appeals, his name was repeatedly excluded from amnesty decrees issued during his imprisonment.
Mr Kassar was finally released on 16 June 2014 after sustained pressure from international groups – nearly 22 years after his arrest.
Until now, he has remained silent about his imprisonment, fearing that any attempt to share his story could result in re-arrest and a return to prison, but has spoken out after Assad was toppled as Syrian president.
“After years of imprisonment, torture, and injustice, the revolution finally toppled the dictatorial regime,” he added.
Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda.
“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room.
Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared the video, saying that Russia’s “paranoia about the ‘NATO threat’ has reached new heights”.
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Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow
Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko reported that it was released after the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day – amid speculation it was shot down by Russian air defences.
Sky News has not yet been able to verify the timing of the video’s release, which appeared on pro-Russian social media channels and not from an official source.
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The video begins with Santa, dressed in red, flying in a sleigh above the Russian capital, saying: “Ho, ho, ho! Hi Russians, here are your presents! Happy New Year!”
It then shows a missile blowing up the sleigh and cuts to the control room, where an alternative Father Christmas dressed in blue asks “Is that it?” and a man in uniform replies: “Yes, the target is destroyed.”
“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” the Santa says in response.
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South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.
The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.
After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.
The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.
Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.
South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.
The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.
Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.
A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP
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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.
Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.
Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.
Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.
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