A private security firm nervously stand in front of a cage holding reanimates. These undead were to be used in illegal cage fighting. (This video was part of the prosecution of the Syrian police oofficers.)


A Syrian court has opened the trial of 25 former police officials. They are all accused of organizing an illegal zombie cage fighting ring. One in which Syrian dissidents, political activities, and the undead were coerced into fighting, for profit.

Judge Mohammed Yazji presided over a rowdy opening session Sunday. Television reporters crowded around Judge Yazji, who had to halt the proceedings several times and even threatened to expel journalists from the chaotic Diraa chamber.

The defendants have all been held since their arrest in late February.

Public trial
The accusations are serious. Not just due to the nature of the offence, but also the political implications involved. Syria has been reeling after several months of social discord and riots. Universally condemned for it's strong crackdown on protestors, the last thing it needs right now is a public trial of this nature.

The 25 law officers were caught red handed. They were filmed in an undercover sting operation sponsored by Amnesty International. The video shows several frightened and panicking men, all later identified as missing dissidents, herded into a large makeshift cage.

A crowd of around 50 spectators watch as an equal number of undead are then introduced into the same cage. All the undead appear to have have had their eyes removed. This is a gruesome way of ensuring a prolonged fight. The scene is so harrowing that the video has been banned on youtube and any public TV airings.

The prosecution also alleges that this was a complex illegal gambling operation, with bets being placed on the outcome of the matches. The fight videos were sold on the black market for profit. This also proved to be a key piece of evidence for the prosecution. Dozens of DVD's were confiscated.

In Baba Amr, a hard-hit district of Homs, field hospitals were allegedly raided by government forces. The injured taken away "for questioning". They often did not return. A doctor who preferred to remain anonymous claims that suspected activists were singled out. The rumors began emerging that they were being fed to the undead for sport. "It was too terrible to believe. We refused. But then we saw the video."

Public outrage was so overwhelming within Syria that it reached all the way to the government. Ministers and public officials demanded answers.

Even so, many question Syria's role in this whole incident, and whether it was aware of the treatment of these political prisoners.

Washington has already cut all diplomatic ties to Syria. But the U.N. had warned that if the trial did not go ahead, it would impose "extreme economic sanctions" on Syria. U.N. officials are holding intense discussions with Syria to make sure the trial continues.