Military prison near Damascus: White Helmets: No more prisoners in Assad’s “slaughterhouse”

According to activists, there are no longer any prisoners in the notorious Saidnaya military prison after the fall of the Syrian government. The systematic search of the huge complex north of Damascus for secret cells and hidden basement rooms has now been completed. At the same time, the members of the Syrian civil defense known as the White Helmets expressed their sympathy for the many families who had hoped in vain that missing relatives would be found alive in the prison after the fall of ruler Bashar al-Assad.

According to the head of the White Helmets, Raid Al Saleh, a total of around 150,000 people were held in the prison, which is known among Syrians as the “slaughterhouse” because of the brutal actions of the guards and notorious torture methods. According to the organization, among those detained were thousands of innocent civilians “who were incarcerated by the former Assad regime.” After Assad’s fall and the storming of the prison by opposition forces, survivors and relatives suspected that some prisoners were still stuck in locked cells and secret rooms. Many of these hopes have now been painfully disappointed.

With the help of sniffer dogs and insiders familiar with the prison, five search teams combed the entire complex, the White Helmets said. “All entrances, exits, air ducts, sewage systems, water pipes, cable ducts and surveillance cameras were checked,” it said. “Despite these extensive efforts, no hidden or closed areas were discovered.” The search for the missing victims of the power apparatus continues – even outside the prison there are mass graves and countless corpses to be identified.