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DISINFO: The OPCW Saraqib report is fabricated

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

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Chemical weapons/attack Douma Syrian War OPCW

DISINFO: The OPCW Saraqib report is fabricated

SUMMARY

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) report [on the Saraqib chemical attack] contained false and fabricated conclusions representing a new scandal for the OPCW and its investigation teams, to be added to the scandal of the fabricated fact-finding mission report on the Douma 2018 incident.

RESPONSE

This a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about OPCW investigations in Syria, with the aim of deflecting blame for the chemical attacks away from the Assad regime. The claim was neither critically challenged nor counterbalanced in the article.

The campaign to discredit OPCW started around mid-2018 when the organisation was being granted new powers to assign blame for chemical attacks.

According to the OPCW's Director-General, the organisation has been targeted by a disinformation campaign when it was granted such powers. 18 countries issued a joint statement, which called for an end to the unacceptable Russian defamation of the OPCW.

The OPCW conducts probes into allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria, and its findings serve as the basis for publicly available reports and expert notes. The OPCW is an independent inter-governmental international organisation with 193 member states - including Russia. The OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) was formed in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as the voting results for the decision upon which its formation was based were counted at 82 votes in favour and 24 against.

The IIT concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that at approximately 21:22 on 4 February 2018, during ongoing attacks against Saraqib, a military helicopter of the Syrian Arab Air Force codenamed “Alpha-253”, under the control of the Tiger Forces, hit eastern Saraqib by dropping at least one cylinder

The term “reasonable grounds” denotes a standard of proof routinely applied by the OPCW and several UN bodies, and is based on available evidence as well as previous conduct of the suspected warring party.

In reaching its conclusions, the IIT carefully assessed the information obtained from the Fact Finding Mission (FFM), States Parties, and other entities, coupled with interviews conducted by the IIT and analyses of samples, munition remnants, gas dispersion models, and topographic studies, as well as advice from experts, specialists, and forensic institutes, along with other relevant material and sources.

The IIT reviewed thousands of files, amounting to more than 400 gigabytes, obtained 44 statements from more than 30 witnesses, and considered data related to 18 samples. The IIT assessed this information holistically, scrutinising carefully its probative value through a widely shared methodology in compliance with best practices of international fact-finding bodies and commissions of inquiry. In so doing, the IIT adhered to applicable OPCW procedures, including with respect to the chain of custody, supplemented as appropriate. The IIT pursued lines of inquiry and scenarios suggested by the Syrian authorities but was unable to obtain any concrete information supporting them.

Read similar cases that the OPCW has become a tool for the US and its Western allies, that it is controlled by American, and smeared whistleblowers and doctored evidence to blame Damascus for the chemical attack.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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