Devastated mother demands justice for siblings, children lost in Syria prison under Assad regime

By Rauf Maltas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Nicah Dibesh, a 48-year-old Syrian woman whose two children and two siblings were tortured to death in Sednaya Prison in Damascus, demands justice.

Dibesh took refuge in Türkiye’s southeastern Sanliurfa province 3 years ago with her grandson and son due to the civil war in Syria.

The woman, who is happy that the Bashar Assad regime in her country was overthrown, wants to return to Syria in the future and start a legal struggle for her sons Fehmi and Mustafa Dibesh and her brothers Mohammed and Omer Alkatan, whom she lost in Sednaya Prison, located in the Syria’s capital Damascus.

Dibesh tries to ease the pain of her children by looking at their photos on her cell phone.

She told Anadolu that her brothers protested against the Assad regime in 2012 and that first her brothers and then her two sons were taken to Sednaya Prison.

Dibesh said that she was insulted in Sednaya Prison when she went to see her children and brothers, and then she was taken from her house and was kept there for 3 months.

“They tortured me too. The guards there were all men and they beat me. I still have torture marks on my back. They tied my hands behind my back and raised them in the air. I still have a crippled shoulder that has not healed,” she added.

Stating that two of her sons and two of her brothers lost their lives in Sednaya Prison as a result of various tortures, Dibesh said: “I am in Türkiye now. It is not easy, we had four deaths. We would like to thank the Republic of Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for hosting us and not leaving us alone in this process.”

- ‘For a moment, I forgot funerals and sadness, I was very happy’

Welcoming the overthrow of the Assad regime with joy, Dibesh said: “When the Syrian National Army entered Aleppo, I rejoiced. I danced in my sick and disabled state despite the deaths of my brothers and sons. For a moment, I forgot funerals and sadness, I was very happy.”

Stating that they plan to return to Syria when order and peace are fully restored in their country, Dibesh said: “Bashar al-Assad made us refugees, but thank God we came to Türkiye, a Muslim country, while Assad took refuge in Russia, a non-Muslim country. We will return to our country now, but he will not be able to return for life, that is enough for us.”

- ‘I will seek justice’

Stating that she is determined to seek justice for her brothers and sons, Dibesh said: “I have been experiencing great sadness for 12 years, even the graves of my sons and brothers who died in prison due to torture are not known. I will seek justice. I will go and find justice with my disability. When the situation in Syria improves, I will continue my struggle for all kinds of rights. I will seek justice as a woman, a sister, a mother. I will tell everywhere how they were tortured and killed. I will continue my struggle in all countries of the world within the framework of international law, inshallah.”

*Writing by Efe Ozkan