The White Helmets, a Syrian civil defense group, concluded their investigation at Sednaya Prison, infamous for alleged torture under Bashar Assad’s regime. No hidden cells were found during the search.
Following the opposition’s control of Damascus on December 8, prisoners detained in Sednaya, known as a “torture center,” were freed. Among them were Raghid al-Tatari, imprisoned for 43 years after disobeying orders to bomb Hama in the 1980s, and Tal al-Maluhi, jailed in 2009 at age 19 for criticizing government corruption. Many released detainees reunited with their families.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the discovery of 15 civilian bodies showing signs of torture. A Jordanian detainee, freed after 41 years, was found in poor psychological condition.