SAR teams end operations in Saydnaya Prison

Platforms monitoring the search operation within the notorious Saydnaya Prison indicated that no undiscovered cells or secret basements were found on the second day of the search.

In a statement published on social media, the search teams said, “The teams searched all sections and facilities of the prison, its basements, courtyards, and outside its buildings, accompanied by individuals who have full knowledge of the prison and its details. No evidence confirming the existence of undiscovered basements or secret tunnels was found.”

The teams also expressed deep disappointment, as thousands of detainees remain missing, and their families have been unable to obtain any information about their fate.

Saydnaya Military Prison is considered one of the most fortified military prisons during the regime of Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar al-Assad. It has been dubAbed the “Red Prison” in reference to the bloody acts of killing and torture that human rights advocates claim took place there.

The prison was built in 1987 on a small hill at the beginning of the Saydnaya Plain, a mountainous town located 30 kilometers north of the capital, Damascus. Saydnaya Prison is estimated to cover an area of 1.4 square kilometers, according to media reports.

The prison consists of two buildings: the red building, which is the older section designated for political and security detainees opposing the regime, and the white (new) building, which is designated for military criminal inmates. It can hold between 10,000 to 20,000 prisoners.

The prison is under the jurisdiction of the Syrian Ministry of Defense and is managed by the military police. It has three levels of security: the army, military police, and military intelligence division.

Estimates from the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons in Saydnaya Prison, published in a 2022 report, indicate that more than 30,000 detainees were either executed or died in that prison due to torture, lack of medical care, or starvation between 2011 and 2018. This means that each week, and sometimes twice a week, groups of 20 to 50 people were executed in complete secrecy following military trials lasting between one to three minutes. The bodies were then transported and buried in mass graves.

A-H

ANHA