Saydnaya Prison

Between 2011-2015, the Syrian government systematically tortured and killed thousands of people in a military jail near Damascus. This information comes from human rights group Amnesty International, after they recently. published a report on operations within the military jail. The report states that as many as 13,000 people were killed over the four-year period, and the violent operations likely continued after 2015.

The location of the hangings, Saydnaya prison, has two buildings. One, the “white building”, is for military personnel. The other, the “red building”, is reserved for civilians who opposed to the government.

This information comes from interviews with witnesses, including guards and officials. Guards reportedly rarely supplied prisoners with food and water. Torture and other physical forms of punishment were a regular occurrence, leaving many prisoners permanently injured or disabled. Hangings occurred in the middle of the night, and bodies would be carted off to be buried in mass graves.

In response, the Syrian Justice Ministry denied the report, stating that it was “devoid of truth”. Despite this, the report called for an investigation by the United Nations, and has earned some attention from the UN. The UK ambassador to Syria, Peter Wilson spoke at the UN regarding the report.

“We have seen the report of Amnesty International on atrocities in Syria," he said. "Our foreign secretary has said he is sickened by that report. We strongly condemn these atrocities, and we continue to effort to shine a light on what's happening in Syria and to hold people accountable for these actions.”

- Freya James

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/07/middleeast/syria-executions-amnesty-international-report/index.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-amnesty-idUSKBN15M00F

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/02/syria-investigation-uncovers-governments-secret-campaign-of-mass-hangings-and-extermination-at-saydnaya-prison/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38911298