White Helmets working to uncover hidden chambers at notorious Syrian prison

By Zeynep Katre Oran and Ethem Emre Ozcan

DAMASCUS/ANKARA (AA) – Claims of secret chambers at Sednaya Prison, infamous for torture under the toppled Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, are being investigated.

Anadolu reporters in Damascus documented efforts of the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, as they worked to uncover the hidden chambers at the prison.

Located 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of Damascus, the prison, notorious for the use of torture and excessive force, is believed to have multiple underground levels.

- Electronic doors to underground levels

The Syrian Civil Defense said that it has mobilized efforts to investigate testimonies from survivors about holding prisoners in underground cells at Sednaya Prison.

White Helmets Director Raed Al Saleh said on X that five specialized emergency response teams had been dispatched to Sednaya, with two guides familiar with the prison’s layout assisting them.

According to witnesses, efforts are ongoing to rescue prisoners who nearly suffocated due to poor ventilation at the prison.

To free prisoners visible in the security footage, the electronic doors to the underground levels need to be unlocked.

Local authorities called on former soldiers and prison staff from the fallen regime to provide codes to open the doors.

- 'They were waiting to be executed during day'

Social media users and media outlets shared images of protesters storming Sednaya Prison and freeing prisoners.

Among those freed were young children held with their mothers. In some footage, former detainees are seen unable to walk due to torture, crawling their way out of the prison.

A video shared by the Sednaya Prison Detainees and Missing Persons Association (ADMSP) shows women freed from the notorious prison.

In the footage, they are told, "Assad is gone, don't be afraid!"

Another video circulated on social media shows people waiting near the prison, hoping to find out if their relatives are among those freed.

A separate recording, said to be filmed on the streets of Damascus, shows freed prisoners running joyfully.

In the video, one former detainee asks a passerby what happened and reacts with Assad’s fall with chants: "We’ve overthrown the regime."

Another video circulating on social media features a Syrian prisoner, hours away from execution, describing his freedom following the regime's collapse.

"Our execution was scheduled for half an hour ago. 54 people... Our execution was today," he says.

- Assad’s torture center

According to reports by international organizations, Sednaya Military Prison became a base for detaining anti-regime peaceful protesters and military opponents following the March 2011 uprising.

The prison, under the Assad regime’s defense ministry, was transformed into a site for torture.

Reports indicate that regime officials silently and systematically organized the killings of thousands of detainees at Sednaya.

Between 2011 and 2015, weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly, executions were carried out by hanging, with approximately 50 individuals executed at a time.

The reports also reveal that the regime deliberately held detainees under inhumane conditions, subjected them to repeated torture, and systematically deprived them of food, water, medicine, and medical care.

A 2017 Amnesty International investigation concluded that murders and torture at Sednaya since 2011 were part of a widespread and systematic attack on Syria's civilian population, as part of a regime policy.

The report by the London-based rights group concluded that the violations committed by regime officials at Sednaya amounted to crimes against humanity.

- Caesar's photographs

Photographs taken by a soldier, code-named "Caesar," who was responsible for documenting corpses brought to military hospitals during the civil war, are believed to show approximately 11,000 individuals, aged between 20 and 40, who were tortured and killed by the regime using inhumane methods.

Taken between May 2011 and August 2013, the photographs of the corpses depict the wounds inflicted by regime forces in military facilities, proving how detainees were tortured and murdered.

The 55,000 photos taken by "Caesar" were first released by Anadolu in 2014.

These photographs, which show the regime’s war crimes – including systematic torture and starvation leading to death – shocked the world and were key evidence of the atrocities committed by the Assad regime.

*Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul