Assad’s archive of death

A man lies on a metal surface — emaciated, dead. He is photographed at multiple angles: up close, his chipped, yellow teeth glowing; from the side, his cloudy eyes like frosted glass; from afar, his genitals in full view. He is labeled No. 3659.

Another man, No. 4038, is strewn in the back of a van, his naked, shriveled body speckled in blood. Flies feed on him.

The activist Mazen al-Hamada, No. 1174, lies in his prison uniform atop a marble floor, the imprint of restraints on his wrists. His bare feet are bruised.

No. 2389 is a newborn baby.