In the new Syria... Assad's Prisons reopened with new detainees, torture, extortion

A year after the fall of the Ba'ath regime in Syria, investigations conducted by Reuters have uncovered that patterns of arbitrary detention and mistreatment, which marked the era of the previous regime, have resurfaced under the rule of the transitional government. Dozens of prisons and detention centers that were previously notorious for severe human rights violations have been reopened.

In the days following the opening of Assad's prisons by "opposition factions" in December 2024, the first wave of arrests began in the new Syria. These factions detained thousands of soldiers, conscripts, and military officers who had fled their posts with the collapse of the regime.

This was followed by a second wave in mid-winter, which targeted hundreds of members of the Alawite sect across the country. The intensity of these arrests increased after a brief "uprising" in the coastal region in March 2025, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of security personnel and was followed by retaliatory actions that led to the deaths of around 1,500 Alawites.

In the summer, southern Syria witnessed a third wave of mass arrests targeting members of the Druze community, following sectarian violence that claimed hundreds of lives. There were allegations that transitional government forces carried out field executions and other violations, according to the agency.

Reuters' investigations also show that arrests have targeted Syrians from various sects under the pretext of maintaining security. This included human rights activists, Christians who said they were extorted, and Shiites who were detained at checkpoints on suspicion of ties to Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

The agency highlighted the names of at least 829 individuals who had been detained for "security" reasons since Assad's departure, based on interviews with former detainees, families of detainees, and incomplete lists of detainees in seven detention centers. Testimonies suggest that the real number is much higher.

Interviews conducted by Reuters revealed that some of the prisons and detention centers, which previously housed tens of thousands under Assad, are once again overcrowded. Syrians are being detained without official charges, with severe food shortages, rampant diseases, and almost no judicial oversight.

Former detainees and families of those detained reported being subjected to mistreatment and torture, especially in unofficial detention centers, with cases of deaths in detention that were not officially documented. Reuters documented at least 11 deaths in custody, including three cases where families only learned of their deaths after they were buried.

The agency pointed out that Transitional Government Prime Minister Ahmed Al-Shara had pledged in December 2024 to close the "notorious prisons" established by Assad's regime. However, their investigation found that at least 28 prisons and detention centers from the Assad era were reopened during the past year, including centers in Damascus that the government had previously announced as closed, such as the Mezzeh Military Airport prison and the Al-Khatib Branch.

Reuters also documented complaints from 14 families and four lawyers regarding financial extortion in exchange for the release of detainees. The amounts demanded ranged from $500 to $15,000 for ordinary detainees, while in some cases, demands reached up to $90,000.

Correspondence seen by Reuters showed explicit demands for payment to stop torture or secure releases, with threats that the detainees would never be seen again if the payments were not made. Former detainees confirmed that paying money did not guarantee release or safety.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported receiving "horrific accounts of summary executions, arbitrary killings, and abductions" since Assad's fall, noting the difficulty in compiling a comprehensive record of detentions due to the fear of families in providing information.

ANHA