Warning: This article contains graphic accounts of what some prisoners experienced in Assad regime prisons.
In the shadow of Syria's brutal civil war, Sednaya Prison stands as a chilling symbol of the regime's systematic violence. Nicknamed the “factory of death” or “human slaughterhouse,” Sednaya became a place of unimaginable suffering.
According to reports, approximately 100,000 people disappeared into Asada prison, where people, including thousands of women and children, were detained, tortured, and killed.
“Human rights groups have documented that at least 10% of people detained in these prisons have lost their lives, but some reports suggest that figure could be as high as 20%. ” said Joseph Blood, founder of the NGO Peace Communication Center. It helped resolve identity-based conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and the group gained rare access to Sednaya. “The number continues to grow as families speak out about the whereabouts of their missing loved ones, many of whom remain unaccounted for.”
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A bloody noose in a recently released Syrian prison. (Reuters)
Sednaya was more than just a prison, it was a tool to crush all forms of resistance and humanity. “The prison was on a hill outside Damascus,” Ahed al-Hendi, a former political prisoner and Syrian affairs analyst, told Fox News Digital. “I used to see it when I went to tourist spots nearby, but even when I drove by, I was too scared to talk to them. If I said 'Sednaya,' they would go there.”
Al Hendy continued, “I heard from friends about the sights going to Sednaya this week. They found bags of bones, fresh blood still on the floor, the smell of death, torture machines. A friend held onto the torture machine, believing that his son had died there. She told me that she was holding the machine that killed her son, and that she thought she could still smell him. It's like a giant metal press designed to liquefy objects and render them unrecognizable.”
Attention turned to the mass graves after Assad's brutality in Sednaya became more apparent, and after days of searching for survivors and the realization that some may never be found. Brad's team on the ground in Syria is currently gathering evidence. “We are trying to use equipment to create documents, interview people there and discover the possibility of secret underground prisons.” He said he was working at a mass grave.
“Some of the people in these mass graves are from Sednaya and were tortured to death,” al-Hendi said. “Many showed gunshot wounds, and their bodies were moved to a large area where the regime had placed old military equipment to create the illusion of a military-restricted zone. They reported seeing a refrigerated truck entering the area.The truck stayed put.''People had become accustomed to the smell of death for several hours before leaving. ”
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A photo taken on December 3, 2024 at the entrance to the Kwailis military airfield in eastern Aleppo province shows a portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the national flag placed on a garbage dump after the occupation of the area is shown in the photo. By rebel forces. On December 1, war monitors announced that a Turkish government-backed group had seized control of the towns of Safire and Khanasser, southeast of Aleppo, from government forces, as well as the Quairis military airport. (Photo by RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)
Sednaya Prison became a symbol of the regime's ruthless repression. “It wasn't just political opponents,” said Al Hendi, who was arrested on charges of founding a secular anti-establishment student group. “Children and women were also taken hostage to put pressure on fathers and husbands. Children born there as a result of rape by prison guards were also found. Entire families were destroyed by the regime.”
Conditions in Sednaya were inhumane. Prisoners were often starved, beaten, and subjected to electrical torture. “When you execute someone, they don't feed you for three days before the execution. The guards say, 'Why are you feeding him? We'll take the food ourselves.'” Imagine, and first of all, they starve and are not even given the dignity of a final meal,” Al Hendi said.
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Investigators, civilians and rebels are searching inside Sednaya Prison, trying to discover hidden compartments where detainees may still be held. Outside, hundreds of families anxiously await news of their missing or disappeared loved ones, clinging to the hope of being reunited. Sednaya, a notorious “human slaughterhouse” on the outskirts of Damascus, is where thousands of dissidents were imprisoned, tortured and killed from the early days of the 2011 uprising to the long and brutal civil war. Rebels filmed themselves entering Sednaya, which sits incongruously on a quiet hill north of Damascus, alongside monasteries and country villas of Syrian and Arab elites. Syria, December 10, 2024. Photo by Sandro BasiliAbaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images) (Sandro BasiliAbaca/Sipa via AP Images)
The atrocities committed in Sednaya were part of a broader operation by the Assad regime to exterminate the opposition in the most gruesome ways. Both Braude and Al Hendy emphasize the need for accountability. “What we need now is truth and reconciliation,” Brad said. “Only by acknowledging the suffering and recognizing the full extent of the atrocities can Syria begin to heal. Otherwise, we risk perpetuating the cycle of revenge.”
After the fall of Assad's regime earlier this month, Sednaya was liberated and thousands of prisoners were released. “The prisoners who came out of Sednaya were so traumatized that many of them could not even remember their names,” Al Hendi said. “They had been held for so long that they didn't even know that Assad's father had died. They thought Assad was still in power.”
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Robert Petit, head of Syria's International, Impartiality and Independence Mechanism (IIIM), visited Damascus and inspected extensive documentation of the regime's atrocities, highlighting in a press release the “appalling efficiency” with which these crimes were organized. ” was mentioned. He emphasized the urgent need to preserve this evidence, saying: “Time is running out. We have only a small window of opportunity to secure these sites and the materials they hold. If we fail to do so every day, we will… “We risk losing the opportunity to preserve comprehensive evidence.” Accountability. ”
The raids on Sednaya and the mass graves not only highlight the horrors of regime violence, but also serve as a call for justice, Braude said. “The impact of the Assad regime's atrocities is severe. The important question now is how the people can move forward and rebuild, rather than descending into further civil war. There are concerns about a cycle of revenge, but the true Reconciliation can only be achieved through truth” and recognition. ”
“99% of Syrian prison guards belong to the Alawite community,” he said. “We are talking about half of the Alawite youth, most of whom work in the army or secret police. The rebels have proposed a solution. Russia is responsible for Assad and the atrocities. In return, the rebels would grant amnesty to low-level perpetrators who complied with the order, which, if facilitated by Russia, would prevent further violence and provide stability to Syria. will be able to bring you.”
