Ruth Sherlock

And some years ago, Amnesty International published a report in which they had similar accounts to those that we gathered saying And they said that as many as 13,000 people were killed. But the testimony in their report ended in 2015. And so the accounts we've gathered show these executions continued right up until last year. And they really demonstrate how this was apparently systematic.

And this is the question we looked at, too. Where did the bodies go? Rights groups have been tracking possible mass grave sites in Syria remotely for years. And in the days after the regime fell, locals in Damascus began taking reporters to places where they believed bodies were buried.

And this is the question we looked at, too. Where did the bodies go? Rights groups have been tracking possible mass grave sites in Syria remotely for years. And in the days after the regime fell, locals in Damascus began taking reporters to places where they believed bodies were buried.

And this is the question we looked at, too. Where did the bodies go? Rights groups have been tracking possible mass grave sites in Syria remotely for years. And in the days after the regime fell, locals in Damascus began taking reporters to places where they believed bodies were buried.

That's right. But I had an important contact. His name is Muaz Mustafa, and he leads this group, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, based in Washington, D.C. He's maybe best known for bringing a man known as Caesar before the U.S. Congress. Caesar presented lawmakers with tens of thousands of photos that he'd smuggled out of Syria that showed...

That's right. But I had an important contact. His name is Muaz Mustafa, and he leads this group, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, based in Washington, D.C. He's maybe best known for bringing a man known as Caesar before the U.S. Congress. Caesar presented lawmakers with tens of thousands of photos that he'd smuggled out of Syria that showed...

That's right. But I had an important contact. His name is Muaz Mustafa, and he leads this group, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, based in Washington, D.C. He's maybe best known for bringing a man known as Caesar before the U.S. Congress. Caesar presented lawmakers with tens of thousands of photos that he'd smuggled out of Syria that showed...

the torture that was happening in these regime detention centers. And Mustafa, he's also in touch with lots of people who were inside this regime system and witnessed the brutality. And it just so happened that he and I were staying in the same hotel in Damascus. And then when I went up to him and I asked him if he could connect me with people associated with the mass graves, he said, yes.

the torture that was happening in these regime detention centers. And Mustafa, he's also in touch with lots of people who were inside this regime system and witnessed the brutality. And it just so happened that he and I were staying in the same hotel in Damascus. And then when I went up to him and I asked him if he could connect me with people associated with the mass graves, he said, yes.

the torture that was happening in these regime detention centers. And Mustafa, he's also in touch with lots of people who were inside this regime system and witnessed the brutality. And it just so happened that he and I were staying in the same hotel in Damascus. And then when I went up to him and I asked him if he could connect me with people associated with the mass graves, he said, yes.

And that is just what happens. Here's my report. A couple of hours later, a man arrives at the hotel. He seems in his 50s, weathered looking, not surprising since he's spent his life working outdoors. He's friendly, but clearly also nervous. We sit down with coffee to chat. He asks to be known by his nickname, Abu Fadi, and then he really opens up. Mustafa interprets.

And that is just what happens. Here's my report. A couple of hours later, a man arrives at the hotel. He seems in his 50s, weathered looking, not surprising since he's spent his life working outdoors. He's friendly, but clearly also nervous. We sit down with coffee to chat. He asks to be known by his nickname, Abu Fadi, and then he really opens up. Mustafa interprets.

And that is just what happens. Here's my report. A couple of hours later, a man arrives at the hotel. He seems in his 50s, weathered looking, not surprising since he's spent his life working outdoors. He's friendly, but clearly also nervous. We sit down with coffee to chat. He asks to be known by his nickname, Abu Fadi, and then he really opens up. Mustafa interprets.

Abu Fadi dug trenches in one of Syria's biggest mass graves. He's a municipal worker. In 2012, he says, Syrian intelligence came to speak with his boss. They summoned him and other workers for a job at a cemetery near Damascus.

Abu Fadi dug trenches in one of Syria's biggest mass graves. He's a municipal worker. In 2012, he says, Syrian intelligence came to speak with his boss. They summoned him and other workers for a job at a cemetery near Damascus.

Abu Fadi dug trenches in one of Syria's biggest mass graves. He's a municipal worker. In 2012, he says, Syrian intelligence came to speak with his boss. They summoned him and other workers for a job at a cemetery near Damascus.

It was night by this point. He says the workers were told not to touch their phones or even smoke a cigarette. The officers wanted pitch darkness.

It was night by this point. He says the workers were told not to touch their phones or even smoke a cigarette. The officers wanted pitch darkness.

It was night by this point. He says the workers were told not to touch their phones or even smoke a cigarette. The officers wanted pitch darkness.

Abu Fadi watched as the funeral workers pulled the corpses from the trucks into the trenches he'd made. Then the security officers ordered a man operating a bulldozer to cover the filled trenches with soil.