Syria: Assad not Responsible for Ghouta Gas Attack, Says Freed Hostage Pierre Piccinin

[Catherina]

Syria: Assad not Responsible for Ghouta Gas Attack, Says Freed Hostage Pierre Piccinin
Belgian hostage held with Italian war reporter Domenico Quirico by Syrian rebels said captors denied Assad involvement


By Umberto Bacchi : September 9, 2013 2:00 PM GMT


Belgian writer and Syrian hostage Pierre Piccinin said Assad is not to blame for the Ghouta Chemical gas attack (RTL)

A Belgian writer held hostage for five months in Syria has said that his own rebel captors denied that President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for the Ghouta massacre.

Pierre Piccinin said that he and fellow hostage Domenico Quirico, an Italian war reporter, heard their jailers talking about the chemical weapon attack and saying that Assad was not to blame.

Quirico confirmed to La Stampa newspaper that they had eavesdropped such a conversation through a closed door but added that he had no evidence to substantiate what he heard.

Piccinin said the captives became desperate when they heard that the US was planning to launch a punitive attack against the regime over the gas attack in the Damascus suburb.

"It wasn't the government of Bashar al-Assad that used sarin gas or any other gas in Ghouta," Piccinin told Belgian RTL radio after he was released.

"We are sure about this because we overheard a conversation between rebels. It pains me to say it because I've been a fierce supporter of the Free Syrian Army in its rightful fight for democracy since 2012," Piccinin added.

...

Quirico said he listened to a Skype conversation between three individuals, whose names he could not confirm. One identified himself as a Free Syrian Army general.

The three contended that insurgents had used gas in Ghouta to trigger Western intervention.

...

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/504735/20130909/syria-chemical-attack-assad-rebels-blame-hostage.htm

Edit:
See post 6 for article on 2nd freed hostage.

News video. I'm too tired to translate. It says what the article says.

[jsr]

1. This is important.

[1StrongBlackMan]

2. And DUers everywhere ...

will immediately accept this man's word, because ...

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. There are two guys saying this. They appear to be sympathetic to the rebels.

Of course, as they note themselves, what they heard can't be/hasn't been verified.

But I have to say: A chemical war attack was the perfect thing to draw Western intervention. It serves the interest of the rebels much more than it serves the interest of the Assad regime.

I hear the US government has evidence Assad did it. I haven't seen that. Have you?

[1StrongBlackMan]

11. No ...

I haven't seen the evidence ... nor, do I expect to; but our elected representative have and that IS their job.

[VanillaRhapsody]

3. and the inanity continues...

[Pretzel_Warrior]

4. So this dude that was held captive knows all?

Knows more than US spy satellites? Knows more than CIA in country? Uh yeah.

[Comrade Grumpy]

7. He reported what he heard. He said he couldn't verify it.

And there were two prisoners, each agreeing on the account.

I hear the US has evidence Assad wasn't to blame. I haven't seen that evidence. Have you?

[Catherina]

6. More: 2nd captive, Domenico Quirico, 'create a caliphate, extend it entire Middle East-North Africa'

Quirico seems to agree with Peccini’s assessment.
Italian journalist Domenico Quirico disembark from the airplane on September 9, 2013 at Ciampino military airport in Rome (AFP Photo)

...

“I am extremely surprised that the United States could think about intervening, knowing very well how the Syrian revolution has become international jihadism – in other words Al-Qaeda," Quirico said, as quoted by Italy’s Quotidiano Nazionale.

The 62-year-old La Stampa journalist believes that radical Islamic groups operating in Syria to topple Assad “want to create a caliphate and extend it to the entire Middle East and North Africa.”

In a number of news appearances, both Quirico and Piccinin shared stories of how they were subjected to two mock executions, beaten, and starved during their five-month captivity.

"These have been very tough months. We were beaten on a daily basis, we suffered two mock executions," Quirico told reporters upon his arrival in Rome, AFP reported.

"There was sometimes real violence...humiliation, bullying, mock executions...Domenico faced two mock executions, with a revolver," Piccinin told RTL.

Both men were kidnapped in Syria last April by a group of armed men in pickup trucks who were believed to be from Free Syrian Army.

According to Piccinin, the captors soon transferred them over to the Abu Ammar brigade, a rebel group "more bandit than Islamist."

"We were moved around a lot...it was not always the same group that held us, there were very violent groups, very anti-West and some anti-Christian," Piccinin said.

...

http://rt.com/news/chemical-weapons-rebels-captives-632/

[polly7]

8. How refreshing to see someone that actually cares about the people

of Syria step up.

[David__77]

9. It is a data point.

Of course, I realize that they were captive to the Islamist insurgents, so I take it with a grain of salt. The same as I take the words of someone jailed by the government with a grain of salt, were they to make claims that bolstered the opposition.

[Catherina]

12. Right after AC360, there was a young man who stated the same thing these guys did

I was in the kitchen and missed his name. It was during a roundtable with Andrew Sullivan, Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper and some female war hawk. I ran to catch his name but it had already flashed by. Did you see that segment? It might even have been AC360. It was right after the Assad interview.

Anyway, I'm looking for more information.

[whoshaq08]

15. re:Right after AC360, there was a young man who stated the same thing these guys did

I saw that show too.It was Cooper's new show called AC360 Later which debut'd at 10pm est time.
It's different than AC360,which comes on at 8pm. Anyway,I missed the free'd hostage's name also.Obama's call for airstrikes using faux evidence is falling apart!

Marc

[Catherina]

16. Found him. Jonathan Alpeyrie. Thank you!

I love you because I was able to find the video with your information! Thank you and welcome to DU!

Here's the link to the video VIDEO Kidnapped in Syria and speaking out on who used chemical weapons

Jonathan Alpeyrie spent more than 80 days held hostage by rebels in Syria. He joins the AC360 Later panel to talk about who he thinks is really responsible for using chemical weapons there.


There's akso a US journalist named Austin Tice who's missing. I think I read that Reporters Without Borders said about 30 journalists are missing

[carolinayellowdog]

17. thanks to both of you for shedding more light on this murky story n/t

[Catherina]

10. Italian journalist held in Syria released (19 hours ago)

Italian journalist held in Syria released

19 hours ago

Quirico, 62, is a well-known war correspondent in Italy who worked from African hot spots including Libya, Sudan, Darfur and Mali.

The government gave no immediate information about Piccinin, a historian and teacher who speaks Arabic.

Married with two children, Quirico was able to contact his family after his release.

Another Italian, Jesuit Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, is still missing in Syria and was last seen in the Syrian town of Raqqa, where he hoped to free hostages.

Quirico had entered Syria from Lebanon without an official visa and went missing in early April between Damascus and the flashpoint central city of Homs.

...

http://news.yahoo.com/italian-journalist-held-syria-released-195940734.html

[Uncle Joe]

13. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Catherina.

[Catherina]

14. Domenico & I have a moral duty to say that it’s not Assad govtt that used sarin, or any other gas...

...

The Belgian journalist said on Monday he was certain Bashar Assad’s regime was not responsible for the chemical attack on the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on August 21st.

Pierre Piccinin said he and the Italian journalist he was held alongside, La Stampa’s Domenico Quirico, got the information from overhearing a rebel conversation and would release full details later.

“Domenico and I have a moral duty to say that it’s not Bashar al-Assad government that used sarin, or any other gas, in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, we’re certain of that after a conversation that we interrupted,” Piccinin told Belgian TV channel RTL.

Piccinin’s claim stands in stark contrast to declassified intelligence reports from France and the U.S., which put the blame for the deadly attack on Assad’s regime.

He did not provide proof during the interview, saying he and Quirico will release their information simultaneously at a later date.

...

“I had tried to tell the story of the Syrian revolution but … the revolution turned into something else,” Quirico said.

...

Still missing in Syria is an Italian Jesuit priest, Paolo Dall’Oglio, a well-known figure who activists said had gone to meet with al-Qaida-linked militants. The priest went missing in July.

Dall’Oglio is a critic of the regime of President Bashar Assad, which the rebels are fighting to overthrow. The government a year ago expelled him from Syria, where he had lived for 30 years.

...

http://globalnews.ca/news/829612/italian-reporter-and-belgian-writer-kidnapped-in-syria-released/