Syria: Foreign Minister Baerbock visits Saidnaya Prison

At the start of their visit to Syria, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) and her French colleague Jean-Noël Barrot visited the Saidnaya prison near Damascus. During their visit to the prison, which was notorious under the deposed head of state Bashar al-Assad, the two chief diplomats were accompanied by representatives of the Syrian civil protection organization White Helmets, as journalists from the AFP news agency reported on site on Friday. Together, Baerbock and Barrot visited the underground cells and dungeons in which many inmates were tortured to death.

“When I see here today what the people went through in this hell, in this hellish prison, it becomes clear how important your work was,” Baerbock said to the White Helmets after visiting the prison. It was important to “listen to the voices of the free people in Syria” such as those of the White Helmets. These “underlined what kind of regime the Assad regime was, which used torture that no one could imagine.” Now it is up to the international community to help – “to bring justice to the people who suffered here in this hellish prison,” Baerbock continued.

During talks with the new leadership in Damascus, she and her French colleague wanted to convey that “justice is a cornerstone for reconciliation” in Syria. In this context, the minister emphasized how important it is to “secure the evidence and ensure justice for the people.”

Baerbock arrived on Friday morning to visit the new Islamist leadership in Damascus, where her French colleague had already arrived before her. Both are visiting Syria “on behalf of the EU,” as Baerbock announced. The minister assured that Germany wanted to help Syria “with an inclusive, peaceful transfer of power, with the reconciliation of society, with reconstruction.” This includes equal rights for women and all ethnic or religious groups. Barrot made similar comments.

Before her departure, Baerbock also stated that the trip was “a clear signal to the Syrians: a new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria is possible.” “With this outstretched hand, but also with clear expectations of the new rulers, we are traveling to Damascus today,” explained the minister.

According to the French Foreign Ministry, the two ministers want to meet, among others, the new Syrian ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. Under the leadership of his Islamist militia Hajat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the long-time Syrian ruler Assad was overthrown on December 8th. Baerbock and Barrot are the first foreign ministers of major Western states to be received by the new Syrian leadership.

According to the Association of Prisoners and Missing Persons of Saidnaya Prison (ADMSP), approximately 30,000 people have been imprisoned in Saidnaya Prison since the Syrian Civil War began in 2011. But only around 6,000 people were released. Many are dead or remain missing.