Thousands of Syrians gathered on Monday at Saydnaya military prison, located just north of Damascus, in search of their missing loved ones.
Civil defense personnel and members of the White Helmets were observed excavating within the prison grounds, looking for concealed cells or underground areas.
Individuals were seen roaming the notorious facility, often referred to as the “human slaughterhouse,” which has long been a source of terror for the Syrian populace.
“We have detainees who have been missing since 2011, 2012, and 2013,” stated Ghazwan Hussein, who was there to inquire about relatives and friends.
As insurgents rapidly advanced across Syria, they managed to breach prisons and security installations within a mere ten days, liberating political prisoners and many of the tens of thousands who have vanished since the onset of the conflict in 2011.
On Sunday, female detainees, some accompanied by their children, cried out as men forcibly opened their cell doors.
Syria’s prisons are notorious for their brutal conditions, with human rights organizations, whistleblowers, and former inmates reporting systematic torture.
Secret executions have been documented in over two dozen facilities operated by Syrian intelligence, as well as in other locations.
Amnesty International and similar organizations assert that dozens of individuals were executed in secrecy each week at Saydnaya, estimating that as many as 13,000 Syrians lost their lives between 2011 and 2016.
In 2013, a defector from the Syrian military, known as “Caesar,” smuggled out more than 53,000 photographs that human rights advocates claim provide undeniable evidence of widespread torture, as well as instances of disease and starvation within Syria’s prison system.
