Caesar Act sends Syria’s Bashar Assad a stark reality check

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A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 5, 2020 shows President Bashar Assad speaking during an interview with Russia Today in Damascus. (AFP/HO/SANA)
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Updated 12 August 2020
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Caesar Act sends Syria’s Bashar Assad a stark reality check

  • Syria’s collapsing economy is set to suffer another blow as tough new sanctions come into force on Wednesday
  • The Caesar Act warns institutions, businesses and officials against engaging in business with Assad government

NEW YORK CITY: It all began in 2014, when a Syrian military police photographer, codenamed “Caesar,” testified in disguise before the US Congress. He provided the back stories for some of the 55,000 images of torture victims that he had helped to smuggle out of Syria.

The trove of photographs testified to a campaign of human rights violations, torture and murder by the government of President Bashar Assad.

The stage was thus set for the drawing up of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which did not pass until late last year as part of a Defense Spending bill.

FASTFACT

Caesar

Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act is named after “Caesar,” a Syrian military forensic photographer who documented torture by Assad’s regime.

The legislation warns Washington’s friends and foes alike, worldwide institutions, businesses and officials that engagement in any business with the government of Assad could lead to travel bans, denial of access to capital, and arrest.

“Any country or individual, if you’re supporting Assad, stop now! If you’re thinking of supporting Assad in the future, cancel your plans! Because the Caesar bill is an open-ended warning to everyone (who deals with Assad),” said Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of Syrian Emergency Task Force, dubbed “Caesar’s Godfather.”

He brought Caesar to testify in Congress, and then coordinated efforts to help in the drafting, passing and now implementation of the bill.

The legislation received rare bipartisan support. Top Republicans and Democrats from the congressional foreign affairs committees urged all nations to shun Assad, who “remains a pariah,” and called on the Trump administration to vigorously enforce the new measures.

“The regime and its sponsors must stop the slaughter of innocent people and provide the Syrian people a path toward reconciliation, stability and freedom,” said Representatives Eliot Engel and Mike McCaul and Senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez.

“(Assad) will never regain standing as a legitimate leader,” added the joint statement.

While Assad appeared to be emerging victorious from the civil war and talk had turned to reconstruction, a spiraling economy is now threatening his grip on power.

“The Assad regime understands what most of the world doesn’t about the reality on the ground (where it) can detain and torture to death, displace or murder by airstrikes or chemical weapons,” said Moustafa.

“The world will just watch and make statements of condemnation. And the only solution that we have seen actually progressing over the last nine years is the military solution: that of the Assad regime and the Russian air force and Iran and Hezbollah and other terrorists.

“The Assad regime is counting that they’ll just kill, displace, and detain until he occupies all of Syria. And he thinks when he does that, he can claim victory, and then the world somehow is going to welcome him back.

“The Caesar Act pulls away that military victory from the Assad regime. It says that no matter what, any place that the Assad regime rules and governs cannot be worked with or dealt with or ever integrated into the international community, because Assad belongs in the International Criminal Court, not in the United Nations.”

Sanctions from the era of President Barack Obama already target the oil sector, and powerful Syrian individuals. The Caesar Act closes loopholes in these sanctions by adding secondary sanctions that target entities operating for the Assad regime’s benefit in four sectors: Oil/natural gas, military aircraft, construction and engineering.

This includes indirect support to the regime, such as support to Iranian- and Russian-backed militias operating in Syria.

“This revision alone in the bill is worth the whole legislation, because (it) ensures that (individuals) who have been sanctioned in the past and have found creative ways, loopholes, to be able to (get around) the sanctions will now see secondary sanctions placed on them, meaning any company or individual that wants to have any relationship with these sanctioned individuals, will also have sanctions applied to them,” said Moustafa.

The bill’s backers want to stymie reconstruction because Assad is offering lucrative investment contracts to countries to re-establish diplomatic relationships with them.

“The regime is hijacking the private sector. They say they want reconstruction but what they really mean is they want to do another round of stealing the resources of Syria,” said Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese citizen who is a member of the Caesar Act team.

Zakka, now global ambassador for peace and director for Program Development Peacetech Lab at the US Institute of Peace, endured torture in Iranian prisons for four years, and was asked to join the team as a voice for the victims of torture.

Moustafa says reconstruction deals also serve another purpose: Demographic change and what amounts to ethnic cleansing that the regime, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah have conducted inside Syria.

“When a regime levels whole towns, destroys infrastructure, targets hospitals and displaces well over 10 million people, and then is asking for investments so people can pay for him to rebuild what he destroyed, land that he’s expropriated from millions of refugees that will never be allowed to return — the Caesar Act puts an end to that,” he said.

Syria’s economy has collapsed after a decade of war. Hyperinflation and a currency nosedive have raised the cost of food and medicine beyond the reach of most citizens and resulted in mass business closures and widespread food shortages.

The economic downslide is made worse by the financial crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where banks have served as a conduit to the world for Syria’s business community.

The Syrian government called the sanctions “economic terrorism,” and said the US will “bear main responsibility for the suffering of the Syrian people.”

Critics of the legislation claim it is being used for US strategy, which aims to crush two of the regime’s main backers, Iran and Hezbollah, and could push Syria and the region to the brink of a dangerous new stage of the conflict.

Moustafa dismisses those accusations as mere conspiracy theories.

“First of all, the United States and the international community (should) be ashamed of themselves for allowing that never-again moment in Syria to go on for so many years with the worst sadistic types of crimes happening.

“The Caesar act is the reaction of Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress. It’s the reaction of regular American people that saw photographs they have (only seen the likes of) in history books about the Holocaust or the Rwandan (genocide.)




People wave Syrian national flags and pictures of President Bashar Assad during a demonstration in support of Assad and against US sanctions on the country, at the Umayyad Square in the centre of the capital Damascus on June 11, 2020. (AFP)

The bill “is meant to do exactly what the letter of the law says: Protect civilians and punish the criminals.

“It’s the very least the US can do, but it is a very positive step meant to fix the many mistakes of the previous administration and this administration and anyone that hasn’t done enough to help Syria,” Moustafa said.

The Caesar Act establishes criteria that Assad and his allies must meet before sanctions can be lifted.

They include halting the Syrian-Russia air campaign and its targeting of civilians; allowing unfettered humanitarian access to areas under regime, Russian or Iranian control; releasing thousands of political prisoners, facilitating the return of refugees; a genuine political process leading to some form of power sharing; constitutional reform; and ensuring that war criminals are held accountable.

The first group of sanctions will be revealed on Wednesday. More will be gradually unveiled over the summer.

“This is to give those who are dealing or thinking of dealing with Assad the time and option to stop. It is a delicate process. If you immediately put sanctions on people, you are going to lose them to the other side. That is in no one’s interest right now,” said Zakka.

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Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

Updated 9 sec ago
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Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from ‘full-scale civil war’

  • US Secretary of State says Syria is weeks away from a potential collapse and splitting up

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that Syria could be weeks away from a fresh civil war of “epic proportions,” as he called for support to the transitional leadership.
“It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they’re facing, are maybe weeks — not many months — away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up,” Rubio told a US Senate hearing.
The top US diplomat spoke after a series of bloody attacks on the Alawite and Druze minorities in Syria, where Islamist-led fighters in December toppled Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive after a brutal civil war that began in 2011.
US President Donald Trump last week on a visit to Saudi Arabia announced a lifting of Assad-era sanctions and met with the guerrilla leader who is now Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
Sharaa, clad in a suit and complimented by Trump as a “young, attractive guy,” was until recently on a US wanted list over jihadist connections.
Rubio quipped: “The transitional authority figures, they didn’t pass their background check with the FBI.”
But he added: “If we engage them, it may work out, it may not work out. If we did not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out.”
Rubio, who also met with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkiye on Thursday, blamed the renewed violence on the legacy of Assad, a largely secular leader who hailed from the Alawite sect.
“They are dealing with deep internal distrust in that country, because Assad deliberately pitted these groups against each other,” Rubio said.


UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

Updated 32 min 6 sec ago
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UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

  • Ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors

LONDON: UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan congratulated Johann Wadephul on his appointment as Germany’s minister of foreign affairs.

The two ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors during a phone call on Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Sheikh Abdullah hoped to achieve mutual prosperity between Germany and the UAE, whose diplomatic ties were established in 1972.

In 2023, the UAE became one of Germany’s most important business partners in the Middle East, with a bilateral trade volume exceeding €14 billion ($15.768 billion). According to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office report, German imports from the UAE experienced a 150 percent increase in the same year.

Wadephul, a veteran conservative and defense policy expert, assumed the foreign minister’s office on May 7 in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government.


Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

Updated 58 min 42 sec ago
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Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

  • Ayman Safadi says Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf, while Syria acts as Jordan’s gateway to Europe
  • Asaad Al-Shaibani: Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability

LONDON: Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, on Tuesday discussed strengthening cooperation during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani.

The Jordanian delegation included the ministers of water, industry, trade, energy, and transport, who discussed coordination with their Syrian counterparts and signed an agreement to establish a coordination council between the two countries.

Al-Shaibani said that diplomatic efforts resulted in the lifting of European sanctions shortly after the US announced it would lift sanctions on the country. He added that lifting sanctions on Syria would enhance cooperation with Jordan in transport and energy, positively affecting the region.

The minister said Syria shares borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and aims to maintain its security while addressing threats, as its security would affect neighboring countries.

Al-Shaibani and Safadi opposed the Israeli intervention in Syria after the change of rule in Damascus in December 2024, the SANA agency reported.

Al-Shaibani said Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability while finding solutions for vital issues such as energy and electricity.

Safadi and Al-Shaibani have agreed to establish a roadmap to enhance cooperation in energy, transport, water, and health, SANA added.

Safadi said that Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf and the Arab world, while Syria is Jordan’s gateway to Europe, and affirmed Amman’s support for Syria.


Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

Updated 20 May 2025
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Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

  • Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said
  • “However, there’s a lot more to go“

DOHA: Lebanon still has “more” to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy US Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday.

As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

UN peacekeepers are also present in the area and play a role in supervising the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said at the Qatar Economic Forum referring to efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

“However, there’s a lot more to go,” she added.

“We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. And so that doesn’t mean just south of the Litani. That means in the whole country,” Ortagus said at the Qatar conference calling on Lebanese politicians “to make a decision.”

It has also continued to launch raids on its neighbor despite the ceasefire.

Last month, President Joseph Aoun said the army was deployed in more than 85 percent of Lebanon’s south, and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”

In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military continues to occupy five positions close to the border that it has declared to be strategic.


Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

Updated 20 May 2025
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Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

ALEPPO: Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75 percent of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, threatening the food security of millions of people.
Toni Ettel, the FAO’s representative in Syria, told Reuters the agency anticipated a “food shortage of 2.7 million tons of wheat for this year, which is sufficient to feed 16.3 million people over one year.”
Under former President Bashar Assad, Damascus depended on wheat imports from Russia to support a bread subsidy program during past droughts.
Wheat farmers like Asaad Ezzeldin, 45, have seen their crops fail due to the drought. It has further strained Syria’s beleaguered agricultural sector that suffered from fighting and heavy bombardment during 13 years of civil war.
“Agriculture in Aleppo’s northern countryside has been hit because of the lack of irrigation. There is no rainfall,” he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of Assad, suspended wheat supplies to Syria soon after Islamist rebels toppled him, citing uncertainties about the country’s new authorities.
In a surprise announcement last week, US President Donald Trump said he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria. Washington is likely to begin providing some sanctions relief in the coming weeks.
The flow of funds could revive the agriculture sector, providing much-needed technologies for irrigation and infrastructure renewal, Ettel said.
Unable to buy wheat and fuel, Syria’s new government had lobbied for a lifting of the sanctions that for years isolated the Syrian economy and made it dependent on Russia and Iran.
Syria’s agriculture ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she hoped ministers would reach an agreement on lifting EU economic sanctions on Syria. The EU has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport and reconstruction, and associated financial transactions, but some argued this was not enough to support its political transition and economic recovery.