Title: Syrian Rebels Free Prisoners as Bashar al-Assad’s Regime Falls
DAMASCUS, Syria – Bashar Barhoum, a 63-year-old writer, had been imprisoned for seven months and was set to face execution when rebels stormed Saydnaya military prison and freed him along with thousands of others.
Barhoum, one of many political prisoners, was set free by insurgents who have been fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. He was accompanied by thousands of others, including women and children who had been detained for their political beliefs or for fighting against the government.
Barhoum said he hasn’t seen the sun for months and is grateful for the second chance at life. “I haven’t seen the sun until today,” he told the Associated Press. “Instead of being dead tomorrow, thank God, he gave me a new lease of life.”
Torture and executions were systematic in Saydnaya military prison, known as the “human slaughterhouse,” according to human rights groups, whistleblowers, and former detainees. Up to 13,000 people were reportedly killed in the prison between 2011 and 2016.
The Assad regime has been accused of human rights abuses, torture, and arbitrary detention since the Syrian conflict began. The regime’s security forces have been known to kidnap, torture, and execute thousands of people for their political beliefs or ethnicity.
Over the past 10 days, insurgents have freed prisoners in cities such as Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Damascus. Many families had been searching for their loved ones, some for up to 13 years. Heba, a mother, is searching for her brother and brother-in-law who were detained while reporting a stolen car in 2011.
The United Nations has been calling for the release of political prisoners and the accountability of human rights violators. Omar Alshogre, a human rights advocate who survived three years in detention and torture, called the action a “massacre.” “A hundred democracies in the world had done nothing to help them, and now a few military groups came down and broke open prison after prison.”
The families of the prisoners and the disappeared are worried about their safety and fate. Many have been arrested and tortured, and have not been heard from for years. They are unsure if they will ever know what happened to their loved ones.
As the battle for Syria rages on, many people are demanding justice and accountability for those responsible for the human rights abuses and massacres in the country.