Abu Ayoub

Eyad A. is the second defendant in the trial. The smaller fish. The less interesting accused. Or is he? Karam and Fritz go on a journey to find answers to this question.We talked to friends, family, a colleague of his from Branch 251, and a court reporter to find out more. And we discovered some pretty interesting insights and contradictions in the various versions of events.When did Eyad A. really join Branch 251? Did he fight with the rebels before he left Syria? Is justice going after the wrong guy? And how does he come across in the courtroom now that he is facing charges of crimes against humanity?Branch 251 is listener supported. You can support us by subscribing, spreading the word and by going to our website and clicking the 'Support This Podcast' button.Follow us on Twitter and @KaramShoumali and @Fritz_Streiff.Some additional sources on this episode and the trial here:The article we mentioned that talks about Eyad A.'s time with the rebels: https://www.zamanalwsl.net/news/article/101884/Hannah el-Hitami's website with a number of informative articles about Syria and the trial in Koblenz here: https://www.torial.com/hannah.el-hitami@ECCHR Berlin hearing summaries can be found here: https://ecchr.eu/en/case/trial-monitoring-first-trial-worldwide-on-torture-in-syria/…Weekly trial monitoring reports by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC): https://syriaaccountability.org/updates/2020/05/28/inside-the-anwar-raslan-trial-raslan-speaks-through-his-lawyer/Logo design by laurenshebly.nl -- Photo by James Lawler Duggan/AFP/Getty Images.