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  • February 11, 2025
The liberated Syrian prison arouses hope and heartbreak

The liberated Syrian prison arouses hope and heartbreak

As soon as the rebels took Damascus, Syrians poured into the infamous Saydnaya prison, desperate for news of loved ones who disappeared under the rule of deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

“I am waiting in the hope that one of my relatives will be found,” said 25-year-old Youssef Matar, who has been camping outside the feared Y-shaped prison since Sunday.

He said 10 of his relatives were arrested “for no reason, just because we are from Daraya,” a Damascus suburb that was crucial in the 2011 uprising.

“I’ll stay here until I know if they’re dead or alive.”

The prison’s liberation came hours after the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allies captured Damascus on Sunday, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of war.

Thousands flocked to Saydnaya, a grim symbol of some of the regime’s atrocities, with a line of cars stretching for seven kilometers a day later.

Some walked for hours to reach the hill where the infamous building stands, climbing over the sand barriers surrounding it.

Monday evening, families sat outside around campfires and braved the cold as they waited.

– ‘We looked everywhere’ –

Since the 2011 uprising that sparked the war, more than 100,000 people have died in Syrian prisons by 2022, often under torture, according to an estimate by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based war monitor also said around 30,000 people had been held in Saydnaya, where detainees suffered some of the worst torture, while only 6,000 were released.

Videos on social media showed dozens of thin men emerging from dark cells, some too weak to walk, being carried out of the prison by their fellow inmates.

Hundreds of family members entered the prison through the narrow doors.

Those who couldn’t find their loved ones rummaged through documents scattered on the ground, looking for their names.

“I am looking for my brother, who has been missing since 2013. We have been looking for him everywhere, we think he is here, in Saydnaya,” said Umm Walid, 52, who declined to give her full name.

“Since Bashar left, I am optimistic. The fear is over,” she added.

– ‘He lived’ –

Many remain convinced that they are in secret underground dungeons.

The White Helmets, a rescue organization, said they were looking for “hidden underground cells” before announcing the end of search operations in Saydnaya on Tuesday without finding any more prisoners.

Amnesty International has called Saydnaya a ‘human slaughterhouse’, where thousands of executions have been recorded in the prison.

The London-based rights group said the prison was intended to “exterminate” prisoners.

Mohammad al-Jabi, 40, was at the facility looking for four of his relatives.

“They were all arrested on terrorism charges, including my cousin, who was 14 at the time,” he said.

“They took them out of their homes and we visited them once. Then they told us they were dead and asked for their identity cards,” he added.

But “they haven’t given us any evidence, and we still hope they’re alive.”

Most detainees who were not released were officially considered missing, with their death certificates rarely reaching their families unless exorbitant bribes were paid, as part of widespread corruption.

Khaled Attieh, 55, was looking for his brother, who had been in prison since 2012.

‘We came to visit him. He was still alive,” he said. That was six years ago.