Since 2011, thousands of detainees died due to incarceration conditions or were tortured or executed in nightly
mass hangings.
Built on a hill 30 kilometers from Damascus, the Saidnaya prison has instilled
terror in generations of Syrians: a place of damnation where men are “neither alive nor dead,” in the words of
the poet Faraj Bayrakdar, arrested for “communist activities” and who survived 14 years of detention in
various prisons across the country.
Summary arrests, enforced disappearances and the systematic torture of prisoners –
men, women and children – have been the instruments of the al-Assad regime’s rule since the coup d’état that
marked its arrival in power in 1970. Of the 27 main prisons in Syria, Saidnaya had a special status.
Built by Hafez al-Assad (1930-2000) in 1987 to hold 5,000 people, it has held up to
20,000 simultaneously since the popular uprising against his son, Bashar al-Assad. Under his reign, Saidnaya
became more than a prison, it became an extermination camp.
The complex was opened by the rebel armed forces who seized power on December 8,
2024.
Two perimeter walls with watchtowers barricade the entrance. The first, on the
outside, is lined with anti-tank mines, the second with anti-personnel mines. The aim was not only to counter
possible attacks from outside by the armed opposition but also to thwart any attempt to escape from within.
After 2011, this system was reinforced by a 2S1 Gvozdika, a Soviet self-propelled artillery gun. The only
access was through a gate controlled by armed soldiers.
Inside the 1.4-square-kilometer complex, a dozen
armored vehicles patrolled between several buildings, including two separate detention facilities.
The main one, known as the “red building,” is Y-shaped and
comprises three wings of identical size. It was reserved for civilians who had “confessed” to a crime or were
considered “enemies” of the Syrian people: Islamists, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, communists,
Nasserites, Kurdish opponents, journalists and ordinary citizens who fell victim to condemnation by a neighbor
or rival, not to mention those arrested to put pressure on a relative. At the end of March 2011, 260 Islamists
were freed by the regime. Another release of jihadists took place in June 2011. By then, most of the detainees
were protesters, opponents or supposed opponents.
The second, called the “white building,” is
L-shaped and more recently constructed. It was intended for military personnel suspected of disloyalty. Since
2011, it has been used to house other civilians. It also contains the execution room. Satellite images
declassified by Washington in 2017, supported by survivor testimonies, suggest the presence of a crematorium.
To date, its existence has not been confirmed.
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