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Thousands Freed from Syrian Prison

Loaded on Feb. 15, 2025 published in Prison Legal News February, 2025, page 61

Filed under: Political Prisoners (International). Location: Syria.

Hours after former Syrian Pres. Bashar al-Assad fled rebels who then took control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, prisoners were freed from Sednaya Prison, a lockup known as a “human slaughterhouse” where an estimated 30,000 enemies of the al-Assad regime were killed since the onset of civil war in 2011.

Crowds buoyed by reports of previously unknown subterranean levels flooded into the compound in search of loved ones believed to be detained there. Charles Lister, a longtime advocate for Syrian regime change, said, “There are hundreds, maybe thousands of prisoners held two or three floors underground, behind electronic locks and hermetically-sealed doors.” The White Helmets, a rescue group, offered a $3,000 reward for help locating “underground cells.”

Cellphone video shared on social media recorded gaunt-looking prisoners stumbling from dirty and unfurnished cells. Families lined up carrying ancient photos of loved ones believed held at the prison. Inside, two rooms lined with rock salt had been used as makeshift morgues to hold the bodies of dead prisoners. Between 2,000 and 4,300 prisoners were counted emerging from the lockup by various groups.

Source: France24

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Thousands Freed from Syrian Prison

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