ALBAWABA - After the Assad dictatorship fell, former Syrian inmates visited the notorious jails where they were tortured. Their goal: to record their harsh experiences.
One of these is 48-year-old Basem Fayez, who returned to "the Death Ward." Fayez told Sky News, "I came today to see for myself that nothing lasts forever." He was joined by former inmate Mohammad Hanania, who revealed the horrors of these facilities.
The two men were among thousands of captives released after opposition forces quickly destroyed the Assad administration, ending the family's 50-year dominance. Many inmates were visited by grieving family members who thought their loved ones were dead.
Hanania, 35, said, "Every day, one to three prisoners would die from either weakness or direct killings by the guards." He remembered a guard dragging detainees to a bathroom and beating them hard. Embossed names and dates on empty cells and scattered items and blankets were haunting memories of earlier captives.
Hanania and Fayez described systematic torture. Fayez described detainees being blindfolded, tied, and suspended from the ceiling by their arms. The agony was excruciating. His explanation was that most couldn't survive more than 5-10 minutes.
Sky News reports that human rights groups have documented horrific murders and torture in Syrian prisons. The U.S. found a crematorium at Saydnaya Prison in Damascus in 2017.
After Assad's ouster, families flocked to former jails to find missing relatives. Some inmates survived, but many were killed and thousands are missing.
The fall of the Assad administration has revealed decades of jail brutality, with former captives like Fayez and Hanania vowing to never forget.
