The OPCW is choosing to disregard the trove of information showing that the alleged chemical incident in the Syrian city of Douma was a set-up and staged by the pseudo-humanitarian organisation, the White Helmets. On top, samples collected in Douma that don’t support the version of events blaming Syria and Russia, are an uncomfortable burden stored in the laboratory of the institution. Everybody is pretending they are not there and not making the effort to analyse them.
The OPCW is clear about the methodology of its Fact-Finding Mission in Douma, which included “on-site visits to collect environmental samples, conduct witness interviews and gather data. The FFM further analysed a range of inputs including witness testimonies, environmental and biomedical samples analysis results, toxicological and ballistic analyses, and additional digital information from witnesses”. The institution stated that the evaluation of all this “provides reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon has taken place on 7 April 2018. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine”. OPCW's investigations of the use of chemical weapons are technical in nature and are designed to establish whether or not chemical weapons have been used, not to identify who used them. The claims that videos taken in a Douma hospital after the chemical attack were staged are a recurring narrative of pro-Kremlin outlets. See our reporting and Bellingcat coverage of how Russian and Syrian state media has used fiction movies to "prove" the Douma attacks were staged. See also other disinformation cases about the OPCW report on Douma attack.