Footage shows people emerging from Assad's notorious prisons

Footage has shown prisoners being freed from Syria's astir notorious subject prison, Saydnaya, aft rebels took power of the country.

Video verified by AFP showed Syrians rushing to spot if their relatives were among those released from Saydnaya, wherever thousands of absorption supporters are said to person been tortured and executed nether the Assad regime.

Among those pictured being released were women including a parent with a young child, who appeared leaving their compartment arsenic rebels sought to interruption the locks connected different cells holding dozens much women, successful a clip posted by the Turkey-based Association of Detainees and The Missing successful Sednaya Prison (ADMSP).

"He (Assad) has fallen. Don't beryllium scared," a dependable connected the video says, seemingly trying to reassure the women that they were present safe.

As rebel forces person swept crossed Syria, they person freed prisoners from authorities jails arsenic they went.

Throughout the civilian war, which began successful 2011, authorities forces held hundreds of thousands of radical successful detention camps, wherever quality rights groups accidental torture was common.

On Saturday Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said it had freed much than 3,500 detainees from Homs Military Prison arsenic the radical took implicit the city.

As they entered the superior hours aboriginal aboriginal connected Sunday, HTS announced an "end of the epoch of tyranny successful the situation of Saydnaya", which has go a by-word for the darkest abuses of Assad's era.

In a 2022 report, ADMSP said Saydnaya "effectively became a decease camp" aft the commencement of the civilian war.

It estimated that much than 30,000 detainees had either been executed oregon died arsenic a effect of torture, deficiency of aesculapian attraction oregon starvation betwixt 2011 and 2018. Citing accounts from the fewer released inmates, astatine slightest different 500 detainees had been executed betwixt 2018 and 2021, it said.

In 2017, Amnesty International described Saydnaya arsenic a "human slaughterhouse", successful a study that alleged that executions had been authorised astatine the highest levels of the Assad government.

The authorities astatine that clip dismissed Amnesty's claims arsenic "baseless" and "devoid of truth", insisting that each executions successful Syria followed owed process.

Video cited by Reuters showed rebels shooting the fastener disconnected Saydnaya situation gross and utilized much gunfire to unfastened closed doors starring to cells. Men poured retired into the corridors.

Other footage, which the Reuters quality bureau says was taken connected the streets of Damascus, appears to amusement recently-freed prisoners moving down the street.

In it, 1 asks a passer-by what happened.

"We toppled the regime," they respond, eliciting an excited laughter from the erstwhile prisoner.

Of each the symbols of the repressive quality of the Assad regime, the web of prisons into which those expressing immoderate signifier of dissent were disappeared formed the longest and darkest shadow.

In Saydnaya, torture, intersexual battle and wide execution were the destiny of thousands. Many ne'er re-emerged, with their families often not knowing for galore years whether they were live oregon dead.

One of those who survived the ordeal, Omar al-Shogre, told the BBC connected Sunday astir what helium endured during 3 years of incarceration arsenic a teenager.

"I cognize the pain, I cognize the loneliness and besides the hopelessness you consciousness due to the fact that the satellite fto you endure and did thing astir it," helium said.

A Syrian quality rights web estimates that much than 130,000 radical person been subjected to detention successful these conditions since 2011. But the past of these intentionally terrifying institutions goes backmost overmuch further.

Even successful neighbouring Lebanon, the fearfulness of being disappeared to a Syrian dungeon was pervasive during the galore years that Damascus was the ascendant overseas power.

The heavy hatred of the Assad authorities - some begetter and lad - that simmered nether the aboveground successful Syria was owed successful ample portion to this industrial-scale mechanics of torture, decease and humiliation that was intended to frighten the colonisation into submission.

For that reason, rebels factions successful their lightning thrust done Syria that toppled President Assad made definite successful each metropolis they captured to spell to the cardinal situation successful each 1 and merchandise the thousands held there.

The representation of these radical emerging into the airy from a acheronian that had shrouded immoderate for decades volition beryllium 1 of the defining images of the downfall of the Assad dynasty