Eyewitness accounts from Syrian rebel fighters report the discovery of approximately 40 bodies exhibiting signs of torture in the mortuary of a military hospital in a suburb of Damascus. This revelation comes in the wake of the rebels’ recent advances against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The harrowing images of bodies wrapped in blood-stained shrouds were found inside a refrigerated room at Harasta Hospital on Monday. According to Mohammed al-Hajj, a member of a southern Syrian rebel group, the sight was horrific. He stated that they had been tipped off by a hospital staff member regarding the bodies being discarded there. “I opened the door of the mortuary with my own hands; it was a horrific sight,” he told AFP.
The length of time the bodies had been stored is unclear, but they were in various stages of decomposition. Additionally, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) estimates that nearly 60,000 people have been tortured and killed in the Assad government’s prisons throughout the years of civil unrest.
Reports indicate that the bodies could likely be detainees from the notorious Saydnaya prison, located just north of Damascus. Diab Serriya, co-founder of the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), stated, “Harasta Hospital served as the main center for collecting the bodies of detainees.”
Meanwhile, the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, announced they had completed a search operation at Saydnaya prison, focused on locating potential detainees hidden in secret cells, but had not found anyone. The search included checks in various buildings, basements, and surrounding areas without uncovering any undiscovered locations.
According to the ADMSP, an official document from October indicated that around 4,300 detainees were being held at Saydnaya, with conditions worsening since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. The ADMSP has reported that since then, the prison has seen over 30,000 detainees executed or die due to torture, neglect, or starvation.
This discovery of tortured bodies coincides with significant changes in the power dynamics of Syria, as rebel forces, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), reportedly entered Saydnaya prison and Harasta Hospital during their offensive over the weekend. Following these events, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani declared that former officials responsible for torture would be held accountable, promising to publish their names and pursue their repatriation.
As the humanitarian crisis in Syria deepens, allegations of human rights violations continue to emerge, underlining the ongoing turmoil and the devastating impact on the civilian population.
