Syrian official defects after ‘witnessing killings’

A video of Adnan al-Bakkour’s resignation statement has been posted on YouTube.

Mr al-Bakkour, thought to be one of Syria‘s leading legal officials, claimed he had witnessed the killing of 72 prisoners in Hama and had been told to lie about the mass graves of protesters. An independent lawyer said the person who appeared in the video is al-Bakkour.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 Syrians are thought to have been killed since the uprising against President Bashir al-Assad began.

Syrian authorities expelled foreign media after pro-democracy street protests broke out in March, making it difficult to verify events in the country.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International released a report claiming that at least 88 people had died in the country’s detention centres in the last five months.

A spokesman told Channel 4 News that at least 52 deaths had been caused by “horrific” torture.

Adnan al-Bakkour said in his resignation video that there had been torture within the security services with hundreds of men killed.

He also said he had evidence to back up his claims.

Syria’s state news agency has reported that Mr al-Bakkour was kidnapped by rebel gunmen.

But he denied those claims: “What Syrian television is broadcasting about me being kidnapped by armed groups is totally false.

“I am in the protection of rebel inhabitants and in good health, today, Wednesday, 31 August. I will give live statements once I leave Syria soon,” he said.

‘Important moment’

Middle East analyst at King’s College London, James Denselow, told Channel 4 News it was an “important moment” because there had been far fewer defections in Syria compared to Libya or Egypt.

“Pressure on Syria from outside the country will only have a limited effect … defections will be a key metric of the regime’s ability to survive.”

He added that the government in Syria would be concerned about what was happening internally because it “couldn’t be blamed on a foreign conspiracy theory”.

In August, Bashir al-Assad pledged to pursue a “relentless battle” against “terrorist groups”.

The Syrian president has faced international condemnation for his action but has so far remained defiant.