Türkiye's disaster agency continues to search for detainees in Syria's notorious Sednaya Prison

By Huseyin Cem Dagistanli

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) teams are continuing search and rescue operations in Syria's notorious Sednaya Prison on the outskirts of Damascus to find hidden chambers and prisoners who may have been kept in inhumane conditions.

The search and rescue operations, which began at the request of local authorities and are being coordinated by the Damascus Embassy, include 120 personnel, four search dogs, and 43 vehicles, AFAD said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Sednaya Military Prison, located 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of Damascus, has the worst reputation of any prison, as Amnesty International in its 2017 report dubbed it the "slaughterhouse."

According to the report, since the uprising began in March 2011, it has become a hub of systematic atrocities, with demonstrators against the former Assad regime being held and tortured, including rape, starvation, and executions.

Bashar Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, was ousted on Dec. 8 after anti-regime forces entered Damascus, forcing him to flee to Russia and ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Detainees at Sednaya Prison, including women and children, were released.

Many of those released had spent years, if not decades, in detention centers inside the notorious prison, which were known for brutally treating political prisoners and anti-regime activists.

However, it is believed that there are secret chambers at the notorious prison where Assad held his opponents for years in inhumane conditions.

Some detainees were reportedly captured on security cameras but were not found in inaccessible areas, raising the possibility that they are in secret compartments underground.

As teams continue to dig tunnels and break down walls, Syrians who have not heard from loved ones for years are flocking to the prison in search of traces of their relatives.

AFAD noted in a statement that teams led by AFAD President Okay Memis, departing from southern province of Hatay, had arrived at the Sednaya Prison in Damascus.

"In the operations meticulously conducted by our expert teams, all technical tools and equipment, such as wall-penetrating imaging devices, ground-penetrating radar, and seismic acoustic listening devices, are being utilized.

"We continue to stand by our Syrian brothers in all their needs, from humanitarian aid to search and rescue. For our people in our country, and for humanity beyond our borders," the statement said.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul