Prisoners are released from the Sednaya prison in Syria – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

The Sednaya prison is located about three miles north of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The prison became known for torture and excessive use of force after a prisoner uprising in 2008. The two buildings on the prison grounds, a main building and a building which was probably used for executions, may have housed up to 20,000 prisoners. The prisoners are partly far underground in secret rooms that are walled off. Since the civil war in Syria started in 2011, this has become the last stop for the opposition, writes Amnesty in its report on the prison. They have also prepared a presentation of the prison, based on testimonies from survivors. It was Amnesty International that gave the prison the nickname “the butcher’s house” in connection with a report that came out in 2017. It is unknown how many prisoners have been killed in the prison, but the human rights organization estimates that 13,000 were executed here between 2011 and 2016. The prison is called a slaughterhouse for humans. An overview picture of the prison area. Photo: The white helmets Large and unclear In the last week, rebels have advanced at great speed in Syria. One by one they have taken control of important cities in the country. On the night of Sunday, the rebels entered the capital, Damascus, without much resistance from the army. At the same time, President Bashar al-Assad left the country and sought asylum in Russia. On the way to the capital, thousands of prisoners have been released from prison. Among those prisoners in the Sednaya prison. But no one knows how many are still inside. The prison is large and unorganized with many corridors, doors and prison cells both above and below ground in the various wings. The British newspaper The Guardian writes that the rebels have obtained large maps which they must use to orient themselves and find their way around the large complex. The prison is huge and difficult to find. There are many secret rooms. The video will show rebels trying to navigate their way to the prisoners using a map of the prison. According to the rescue group The White Helmets, several of the prisoners are supposed to be hidden in cells far below the ground, writes the BBC. Local authorities have called on ex-soldiers and prison staff to hand over the codes to the electronic doors to the rebels, so they can open them to thousands of prisoners who can be seen from underground surveillance cameras. Video is from the surveillance room in the prison. Looking for family and friends Outside the prison, many people gathered in search of friends and family who they believe will be held prisoner in the prison. The rebels tried to prevent the relatives from entering, but had to give up, writes The Guardian, which has a reporter present in the prison. The video will show prison cells being opened. People use their mobile phones as flashlights, and go from cell to cell through the labyrinthine corridors in search of clues. – Three in my family are missing. We have learned that there are four floors below the ground. They say people suffocate down there because they lack air. But we don’t know where they are, says Ahmad al-Shnein to the newspaper. Thousands of people turned up at the Sednaya prison to try to find family and friends. Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters/NTB Found women and children The prison has three wings. According to the rebels, each wing must have specialized in different types of torture. There is no window to the outside world. Both women and children are said to be housed in the Sednaya prison, according to videos circulating online, which are said to show prisoners being released. – Don’t be afraid. Bashar al-Assad has fallen, says one of the rebels in one of the videos as he tries to get more women out of a tightly packed cell, writes the AP news agency. People are trapped inside the “slaughter house”. It is still unknown how many prisoners are in the underground cells. But the Syrian civil defense warns people against having too high hopes that they will find someone alive, write the newspaper. Published 09.12.2024, at 20.35



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