Earlier in October Muhammad Bayazid, a Syrian opposition filmmaker and creator of an upcoming movie about alleged torture and abuse perpetrated in Tadmore prison in Syria, was stabbed in Istanbul in what the Guardian described as a suspected assassination attempt.
However, the New Arab reveals that the attack was apparently orchestrated by Bayazid himself in attempt gain publicity and to promote his movie.
The media outlet managed to obtain a video record of several conversations between Bayazid and his producer, Mohammed al-Hindi, that took place in May and June this year. During these chats the filmmaker apparently outlined a plan to stage a fake attempt on his own life in order to promote his work and to attract potential sponsors.
A leaked video of Syrian director Mohammed Bayazid as he is plotting his own (fake) assassination in Turkey to promote his anti-regime show. https://t.co/EJBsjPpAxI
— Hassan Hassan (@hxhassan) 2 ноября 2017 г.
"Arabs, Arabs, Arabs… When they see that this project has taken the spotlight, they will start donating," Bayazid said during one of the conversations.
The filmmaker also discussed various details of the ‘assassination’, insisting, for example, that the ‘attacker’ must be Syrian, and reassuring al-Hindi that after the attempt they will both become famous.
"After that, we will reveal the trailer [for the film] and talk about how we did not want to reveal it yet, but it is the right time to do so," he said.
Bayazid’s upcoming movie, The Tunnel, is aimed to raise awareness about the alleged abuse perpetrated by the Syrian government in the now defunct Tadmor prison in Syria’s Palmyra.
