Preserving Syrian jail information is essential for uncovering the destiny of detainees and forcibly disappeared folks, in addition to figuring out the perpetrators of violations below the deposed regime, Fadel Abdul Ghani, the pinnacle of the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), informed Anadolu.
This got here as detainees proceed to emerge from Syrian prisons, offering testimonies about torture and abuse, together with their bodily scars that summarize the tragic actuality they endured within the dungeons of the now-vanished Bashar al-Assad regime.
Anti-regime teams captured the capital, Damascus, on Sunday after regime forces withdrew from public establishments, marking the top of 61 years of the bloody Baath Party regime and 53 years of the Assad household’s rule.
Assad, who dominated Syria since July 2000 after his father, fled to Russia the place he was given asylum.
TORTURE CENTERS
“The focus now should be on obtaining documents containing the names of those in charge of the security branches and their records and preserving them due to their critical importance,” Abdul Ghani stated.
“The documents include intricate details that would help us identify those involved in acts of torture. At SNHR, we know some of them, but there are hundreds whose identities remain unknown,” added the Syrian rights activist.
He defined that “these documents can be cross-referenced with SNHR data. It’s essential to identify the names of those released, those who died under torture, and other related details. This is crucial for uncovering the truth.”
Regarding detention and torture facilities below the Assad regime, Abdul Ghani highlighted the notorious safety branches in Damascus, resembling Al-Khatib Branch, Branch 215, and Air Force Intelligence, the place detainees had been typically transferred after being held in different branches. These had been among the many most extreme torture facilities in Syria.
As for infamous prisons, he described them as “secondary, such as Sednaya Prison and Tadmor Prison.”
The Air Force Intelligence branches in Aleppo, Hama, Homs, and Damascus “were the most brutal, with the Damascus branch being the worst due to its vast size and specialized torture wings,” he stated.
REGULATING RELEASES
Abdul Ghani referred to as for regulating releases from detention facilities “to maintain justice and preserve rights of detainees.”
“The random release of detainees without thorough review of their files could result in the release of individuals involved in crimes, causing additional harm to victims and their families,” he warned.
He careworn that such actions may very well be interpreted as a scarcity of seriousness in pursuing justice, undermining public belief within the judiciary and fostering a basic sense of insecurity.
“Unorganized releases could be exploited by certain parties to justify the release of perpetrators, harm the political detainees’ cause and weaken the credibility of human rights demands,” he added.
To guarantee justice and keep away from such issues, Abdul Ghani referred to as for “clear and well-studied mechanisms for releases, a review of detainees’ files, independent rights-based oversight, and communication with victims.”
He additionally emphasised the necessity to “ensure the release of political detainees held arbitrarily by the Syrian regime and subjected to brutal torture.”
SYRIAN MEMORY
Abdul Ghani asserted that preserving paperwork is the accountability of the forces which have taken management.
“It’s not just about opening prisons or allowing families to open them. A clear process of regulation is necessary,” he added.
“Prison administration buildings are crucial to retain records. Any tampering with them constitutes destruction of evidence and truth, undermining efforts to uncover the fate of forcibly disappeared individuals.”
The rights activist famous that 90% of forcibly disappeared people have but to be discovered.
“Our comparison of released names with those missing shows that only a very small percentage-1 to 10% – have been released.”
Regarding these people, he acknowledged, “We want to know their fate, where they were buried, and when it happened.”
“Destroying documents is equivalent to erasing Syrian memory and evidence of violations against detainees,” he added.
Abdul Ghani cautioned that this situation is “highly sensitive and dangerous. According to our database, between 96,000 and 100,000 individuals were forcibly disappeared, but this number could reach 200,000 as new cases continue to surface. This poses a significant risk affecting hundreds of thousands of Syrians.”
Abdul Ghani concluded by emphasizing the historic significance of preserving paperwork, such because the “Caesar Files” below the Syria Civilian Protection Act.
“These documents must be analyzed and violations documented to pave the way for prosecuting perpetrators and holding them accountable,” he added.
A defector from the Assad regime, generally known as “Caesar,” launched images of round 11,000 our bodies of people who had been killed below torture between May 2011 and August 2013. The photographs revealed the brutal torture strategies used towards detainees in regime amenities.
On Monday, Anadolu documented efforts to seek for secret sections inside Sednaya Prison in Damascus, probably the most notorious torture facilities below the Assad regime.
Syrians have stated that the autumn of the Assad regime signifies the top of a terrifying period that they endured for many years, with its prisons representing nightmares as a result of systematic torture, abuse, and enforced disappearances.
Source: www.anews.com.tr