WikiLeaks:

Unredacted OPCW Documents Show Changes in Final Version of Douma Report

Date: 15 December 2019 - 22:01

News ID: ۷۳۹۶۳

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – The WikiLeaks website has released its third package of documents concerning a chemical weapons report on the Syrian city of Douma published by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
It includes a memorandum written in protest by one of the scientists that participated in the fact-finding mission (FFM) - and the final report "with relevant comments from a member of the original FFM”.
The memo reveals that around 20 scientists ("the FFM core team”) who participated in the FFM in Douma were not involved in writing the final version and an almost entirely new team was assembled to contribute to the final report.
"This new team was staffed with people who ‘had only operated in country X’, according to the memorandum. It is not clear what country that refers to, except that it is presumably not Syria”, the website wrote.
The newly released batch also includes - for the first time - the preliminary and interim reports along with their redacted versions for comparison.
According to the author of the memo, upon his return from the FFM in Douma, the author was assigned the task of analyzing and assessing the ballistics of the two cylinders, but was excluded from the work, "for reasons not made clear”.
He accepted the task though with a clear understanding that he was "the most qualified team member”, the scientist said. According to him, he has been to locations in Douma, possesses experience in metallurgy, chemical engineering (including pressure vessel design), artillery, and defense R&D.
"In conclusion, I must stress that I hold no opinion, interest or strong views on the technical part of the matter, nor any interest in the political outcomes. My interest is in sound technical rigour; the science, engineering and facts will speak for themselves”, the author of the memo said.
In addition to be excluded from the work, the scientist was repeatedly denied updates on the final report and even forbidden from reviewing it.
He said that his current assessment was obviously that the FFM report is incomplete.
The WikiLeaks materials suggest that the final report by OPCW was intentionally doctored and mispresented by the body, through the deliberate selective omission of facts.
Last year, member states of the OPCW voted to create the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), whose task will purportedly be identifying the culprits behind toxic attacks in Syria, particularly the one occurred in the city of Douma near Syrian capital of Damascus on April 2018.
Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation rejected by the Syrian government.