From criteria used to catalogue photographs taken by “Caesar,” an anonymous photographer for the Syrian military. Between 2011 and 2013, Caesar photographed 28,707 men tortured and killed by the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In 2013, he smuggled the photos out of the country, and they were indexed by activists. Operation Caesar, an account of Caesar’s work by the journalist Garance Le Caisne, was published this month by Polity. Translated from the French by David Watson.

Adults

Minors

Seniors

Light torture 

Severe torture

Emaciation

Wounds

Broken limbs

Strangulation

Skin lesions

Traces of fresh blood

Herniated intestine

Abdomen cut open

Electric shocks

Use of chemicals

Whip marks

Holes in the body

Eyes gouged out

Right index finger raised in a sign of faith