logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
31m 29s

S2E4: Escape from Raqqa

75 Podcasts
About this episode

It's March 2013 and Raqqa is celebrating. Opposition forces have taken over the city and the Syrian regime is no longer in control. That means no more intelligence forces, no more security branches, and no more Head of State Security Khaled al-Halabi. As the citizens of Raqqa look towards a new future, where has Halabi escaped to?

The Syria Trials is a 75 Podcast production. This episode is hosted by Fritz Streiff, and produced by Sasha Edye-Lindner, with research and editorial support from Mais Katt. The voiceovers were provided by Cyril Nehmé, Muhammad Bakri, Amr Hussien and Alaa Ehsan. It was mixed by Tobias Withers.

Support for our podcast comes from German Federal Foreign Office funds that are provided by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen IFA’s Zivik Funding Programme.

If you’d like to find out more about our podcast, head to our website https://75podcasts.org/ Here you'll find an archive of all our episodes with their transcripts, as well as our other productions.

Up next
Dec 2023
S2E11: A conversation with Abdallah and Steve Kostas
In this, the final episode of the season, Fritz catches up with two of the key legal investigators in the Halabi case - Abdallah and Steve Kostas, who have both been an integral part of this season. We find out where the Halabi case currently stands and what we can expect to happ ... Show More
18m 36s
Dec 2023
S2E10: Better Late than Never
Khaled al-Halabi might not be behind bars or on trial - but there have been huge developments in the justice for Syria space. Fritz heads back to the city where it all started, Raqqa, which has suffered hugely also since Halabi escaped. He finds out about the cases concerning the ... Show More
35m 20s
Dec 2023
S2E9: The Wheels of Justice
The wheels of justice can turn incredibly slowly. And when a case like Halabi's is slapped with so many setbacks, it can be difficult not to lose hope and faith in the justice process. But even as the Halabi case stalled, other trials were starting in Europe - including one again ... Show More
33m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2024
37. Who are HTS – The New Rulers of Syria? with Orwa Ajjoub
The Islamist militia HTS (Hay't Tahrir al-Sham≈Committee for the Liberation of Syria) has toppled the dictatorial Assad regime. Its leader, 42-year-old Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, started his career under the leadership of Abu Bakr ... Show More
46 m
Mar 2025
46. Alawite Civilians Massacred in Syria with Orwa Ajjoub
Over the past few days close to 1,000 civilians, overwhelmingly from the Awalite minority, have been killed in Syria.Beginning when clashes erupted between remnants of Assad loyalists and the new HTS-led government, mainly Sunni Muslim militias and civilians descended on Northwes ... Show More
38m 38s
Dec 2024
34. The Fall of Assad with Dr. Neil Quilliam
The Syrian conflict has reignited as opposition forces under the leadership of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) broke out of Idlib, capturing key cities like Aleppo, Hama and finally Damascus, with minimal resistance. What does the apparent fall of the Assad Family's half-century hold ... Show More
36m 51s
Dec 2024
Syrian Rebels Take Aleppo: Kalam Digest 16
The ripple effects of Israel's wars in the Middle East are spinning out of control. Just last week, the Islamist Syrian rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) retook the city of Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria. How did they manage to do so, and how does the severe weake ... Show More
23m 41s
Mar 2025
45. Being Queer in Syria with Khaled Elesmael (Live)
This is a live show where I speak to the Syrian author Khaled Elesmael about queer rights in Syria, gay desire in Arab literature some exciting news at the end of the episode. Khaled Elesmael’s books Salemlike and Gateway to the Sea are seminal works of literature and are a must- ... Show More
44m 21s
Feb 2025
42. Assad's Torture Chambers with Hiba Dlewati
Hiba Dlewati is a Syrian living in the US, since she was forced to leave her homeland in 2012 due to her political activity. A former medical student and journalist, Dlewati joined the anti-regime student movement and began protesting against the regime. Until she was caught. Lis ... Show More
45m 41s
Jan 2025
After Assad
In the month since Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by a coalition of rebel forces, thousands of political prisoners have been released while many more remain missing, assumed lost to the regime. The most powerful group among the rebels, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ... Show More
58m 28s
Jan 2025
39. The World is Syrianised with Yassin al-Haj Saleh
The Syrian writer and political theorist, Yassin al-Haj Saleh, has lived a remarkable life. As a student activist affiliated with one of Syria's communist parties, Yassin spent 16 years in Hafez al Assad's prisons. Then, shortly after the revolution of 2011, Yassin's wife, Samira ... Show More
43m 6s
May 23
Syria's Minority Report: Sectarian attacks on Alawites and Druze threaten Syrian unity
The New Arab Voice is back!This week we look at the recent sectarian violence that engulfed the Syrian coast and targeted the country's Alawite community and the violence that hit in the south, which targeted the country's Druze community. We examine the causes of the violence, t ... Show More
41m 1s
Dec 2024
36. The Assad Family – Rulers of Syria With Sune Haugbølle
When Bashar al Assad’s government fell just a couple of days ago, after a two week whirlwind campaign by opposition forces which surprised the entire world, it signalled the end of more than 54 years of rule by the Assad family and it’s the so called Ba’th-party. While it has bee ... Show More
32m 39s