Shaya Laughlin شايا

Research Director at @OCCRP
No longer posting here. Find me on Linkedin or Bluesky.

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

1/ My latest analysis for @LOrientLeJour: Lebanese disappeared in Syria: a tragedy turned into a political weapon.

Over 650 Lebanese disappeared during the civil war and Syrian occupation, leaving families in limbo for decades. 🧵👇

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

🔍🇧🇪Dataharvest 2026 has officially kicked off in Mechelen, Belgium.

Several OCCRP staff members are set to present sessions and workshops at the European Investigative Journalism Conference, an event bringing together over 500 investigative and data journalists.

🔵Environmental Team Coordinator Eli Moskowitz @EliMoskowitz_ will unpack critical flaws in the EU Emissions Trading System during his session, "Investigating CO2 emissions fraud by reverse-engineering publicly reported data."

🔵Research Director @shayalaughlin will share essential open-source investigation techniques during her practical workshop, "OSINT 101: The latest tools, tricks & tactics."

🔵Data Journalist Margaux Farran and Researcher David Ilieski will discuss how they built a database from fragmented medical records across numerous jurisdictions as part of OCCRP’s “Bad Practice” investigation.

🔵East Asia Researcher Yan will present "How to investigate China 101," a session dedicated to overcoming censorship and language barriers in open-source research.

Find the full schedule for #Dataharvest2026 here: https://t.co/sFYovrFdUZ

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

Press freedom orgs have condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza after Israeli forces struck the Nasser Hospital compound, leaving at least five reporters dead.

@pressfreedom said it has documented the deaths of at least 189 Palestinian media workers.

https://t.co/dvzZxTqalq

[Karam Shaar كرم شعّار @Karam__Shaar]

مبروك لكل اللي اشتغلوا على هاليوم. مبروك لسوريا إعلان رفع العقوبات.

إعلان ترامب، ما له وما عليه، وليش لازم نكون سعيدين بكل الأحوال.

[Benjamin Fève @BenjaminFeve]

Historic day for Syria!

Yet, I hate to be the ultimate party-pooper, but lifting sanctions on Syria isn’t as simple as Trump just declaring it. This will require a lengthy process.

Sure, FTO designations can be revoked by the Secretary of State, and EO can be reversed by the President, but the Caesar Act is a law passed by Congress. As for UN sanctions, those are decided by the UN Security Council, not the U.S. alone.

We can only hope that they’ll make the process as quick as possible.

Alternatively, sanctions enforcement is made at the discretion of the executive so, yeah, I guess that the Trump can limit enforcement to some extent.

One way or the other this announcement will have to be followed by concrete actions.

[Sana Sbouaï @SanaSbouai]

Le 17 septembre un responsable des renseignements #syrien envoyait un mémo urgent : une source locale déclarait que des #pagers utilisés par le #Hezbollah avaient explosé au #Liban. Des câbles révèlent comment les renseignements syriens ont réagi aux attaques israéliennes ⤵️

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

“Keep all wireless communication devices away from the leaders.” Documents unearthed after Assad’s fall show Syrian spy agency reacting to Israel’s pager attack on Hezbollah. Our latest feature with @OCCRP and @Daraj_media : https://t.co/xMGCjdDAHs

[Josh Kaplan @js_kaplan]

THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files.

It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd done a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

Well deserved

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

🏆OCCRP’s 2024 Corrupt Person of the Year is … Bashar al-Assad.

The ousted Syrian president turned Syria into a narco-state, financing his authoritarian regime through an array of organized crime, including the production and trafficking of Captagon, an addictive street drug.

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

After Bashar al-Assad’s fall, journalists gained access to Syria’s intelligence HQ.

Secret service documents branded @Siraj_Syria an espionage operation linked to U.S. and European secret services, despite Siraj making its information and investigations publicly available.
https://t.co/XQVGPQWSdi

[SIRAJ @SIRAJ_SYRIA]

عقب سقوط نظام الأسد وفتح أبواب الفروع الأمنية، عثرنا على ملف في مقر إدارة المخابرات العامة (أمن الدولة) في دمشق، يكشف عن عملية تتبّع وتجسّس تستهدف “الوحدة السورية للصحافة الاستقصائية- سراج”، المنضوية كشريك محلي مع مشروع OCCRP ... لقراءة التحقيق الكامل اتبع الروابط التالية:

لقراءة التحقيق الكامل اتبع الرابط التالي:

https://t.co/wbkhJJ9B8B 👉

نٌشر هذا التحقيق باللغة العربية على موقع @Daraj_media:

https://t.co/Ft5tsm89bk 👉

وباللغة الإنجليزية. على موقع @OCCRP:

https://t.co/NjgLssfeHf 👉

و أيضاً على موقع @ICIJorg:

https://t.co/sS6WhVG96G 👉

وباللغة الإسبانية على موقع @libreinfobf :

https://t.co/YFYjb7XbpX 👉

وباللغة النرويجية على موقع VG :
https://t.co/vO6auLEVVQ 👉

تحقيق:
@MoBassiki

@aliibrahem88

@shayalaughlin

@DavidKenner

#سقوط_نظام_الأسد #المخابرات_العامة #سراج #الصحافة_الاستقصائية #التجسس #انتهاكات_حقوق_الإنسان #حرية_الصحافة #وثائق_أمن_الدولة #الفساد #الحرب_السورية #بشار_الأسد #اعتقالات_الصحافيين #جرائم_النظام #العدالة_الدولية #حقوق_الإعلاميين #التعذيب #المحاسبة #العدالة_القضائية #المعارضة_السورية #انتهاكات_العقوبات #الصحافيون_السوريون #هيئة_تحرير_الشام #الحكومة_المؤقتة #الشفافية #المنظمات_الدولية #AssadRegimeFall #StateSecurity #Siraj #InvestigativeJournalism #Espionage #HumanRightsViolations #PressFreedom #StateDocuments #Corruption #SyrianWar #BasharAlAssad #JournalistArrests #RegimeCrimes #InternationalJustice #MediaRights #Torture #Accountability #JudicialJustice #SyrianOpposition #SanctionsViolations #SyrianJournalists #HTS #InterimGovernment #Transparency #InternationalOrganizations

[BASSIKI بَسّيكي @MoBassiki]

EXECLUSIVE: Documents Found After the Fall of Assad Show Syrian Intelligence Spying on @SIRAJ_SYRIA and our journalistic activities.
📍A file discovered at GID General Intelligence Directorate headquarters details an operation to investigate SIRAJ, a Syrian journalist collective that is part of the @OCCRP network and media partner of @ICIJorg & @LHreports. Thread 🧵👇

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

https://t.co/EAL6mmWLYF

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

"عقب سقوط نظام الأسد وفتح أبواب الفروع الأمنية، عثرنا على ملف في مقر إدارة المخابرات العامة (أمن الدولة) في دمشق، يكشف عن عملية تتبّع وتجسّس تستهدف “الوحدة السورية للصحافة الاستقصائية- سراج”، المنضوية كشريك محلي مع مشروع الابلاغ عن الجريمة المنظّمة والفساد"
@OCCRP @Daraj_media

[infoLibre @_infoLibre]

La inteligencia siria espiaba a periodistas como revelan documentos hallados tras la caída de Al Asad, una investigación de @OCCRP, un consorcio de investigación sobre crimen organizado y corrupción al que pertenece @_infoLibre https://t.co/4eaeOjMh7t

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

Our story here: https://t.co/xLX7T7tUe4

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

Documents found after the fall of Assad show Syrian intelligence spying on journalists. A file discovered at General Intelligence Directorate headquarters details an operation to investigate @SIRAJ_SYRIA , a Syrian journalist collective that is part of the @OCCRP network

[ICIJ @ICIJorg]

Syria’s feared intelligence services launched an investigation into ICIJ’s Syrian media partner @SIRAJ_SYRIA after it reported on Damascus’ business links with Europe, internal documents reveal. Read more: https://t.co/khD7uryDN3

[Shaya Laughlin شايا @shayalaughlin]

Investigation: @Daraj_media obtained access to the file of Ahmad Hussein Al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Joulani) in the notorious Palestine Branch in Damascus. This is how the leader of HTS evaded the regime’s intelligence👇 https://t.co/4NawKyZMSh

[David Parsley @DavidParsley50]

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨Bashar al-Assad has £55m fund in a London HSBC bank account.

🔴Ministers facing calls to seize £163m of assets that Assad, his family and associates have stashed in the UK and use them to help rebuild Syria.

From me for @theipaper

https://t.co/JULvDvguXK
#Syria