Syrian Rebels Report Discovery of Tortured Bodies at Damascus Hospital

Rebel combatants in Syria state they discovered approximately 40 corpses exhibiting indications of torture within the morgue of a military medical facility located in a Damascus suburb, subsequent to the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad. Visual evidence, including videos and photographs, depicted bodies encased in blood-marked white coverings, stacked within a chilled chamber at Harasta Hospital on Monday. Multiple corpses displayed injuries and contusions on their facial areas and upper bodies. Additionally, strips of adhesive tape displaying identification numbers and names were discernible. Mohammed al-Hajj, an individual affiliated with a rebel faction from southern Syria, informed AFP news agency, “I opened the door of the mortuary with my own hands, it was a horrific sight.” He further stated that the rebels proceeded to the hospital after being alerted by an employee regarding bodies being deposited at the location. “We informed the [rebel] military command of what we found and co-ordinated with the Syrian Red Crescent, which transported the bodies to a Damascus hospital so that families can come and identify them.” The duration for which the bodies had been kept in the mortuary remained uncertain, but they exhibited different levels of decomposition. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring organization based in the UK, nearly 60,000 individuals were subjected to torture and subsequently killed in detention facilities operated by the Assad government. Advocacy organizations for human rights report that over 100,000 individuals have vanished since Assad initiated a harsh suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011, which ignited the civil conflict. A Syrian non-governmental entity suggested that the corpses discovered in Harasta probably belonged to prisoners from the infamous Saydnaya prison, situated directly north of Damascus. Diab Serriya, a co-founder of the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP), informed AFP, “Harasta Hospital served as the main centre for collecting the bodies of detainees.” He further elaborated, “Bodies would be sent there from Saydnaya prison or Tishrin Hospital, and from Harasta, they would be transferred to mass graves.” The finding of the bodies coincided with an announcement by the Syria Civil Defence, whose emergency responders are commonly referred to as the White Helmets, stating that they had completed a search mission for potential detainees in clandestine cells or underground areas at Saydnaya prison, without locating any individuals. On Monday, five expert teams, supported by two K9 dog units and persons acquainted with the prison’s configuration, inspected all structures, subterranean levels, open spaces, air ducts, drainage networks, security camera wiring, and adjacent zones, while gatherings formed there with the expectation of locating their absent family members. The Syria Civil Defence stated, “The search did not uncover any unopened or hidden areas within the facility.” It also added, “We share the profound disappointment of the families of the thousands who remain missing and whose fates remain unknown.” Concurrently, the ADMSP presented what it identified as an official document, dated 28 October, indicating that 4,300 prisoners were incarcerated at Saydnaya. These included 2,817 judicial prisoners confined in the prison’s “White Building” and 1,483 prisoners held on accusations linked to terrorism and military courts in the “Red Building”. The ADMSP declared, “This approximate number represents the detainees who were released at the time of the prison’s liberation.” The BBC was unable to instantly corroborate this information. Insurgent combatants gained access to Saydnaya prison and Harasta hospital during their weekend push into Damascus, leading President Bashar al-Assad to resign and depart the nation. In a 2022 report, the ADMSP asserted that Saydnaya “effectively became a death camp” following the commencement of Syria’s civil conflict in 2011. The report estimated that over 30,000 prisoners had either been executed or perished due to torture, inadequate medical attention, or hunger at the institution between 2011 and 2018. Furthermore, it referenced former prisoners who stated that a minimum of 500 additional detainees had been executed between 2018 and 2021. The ADMSP additionally detailed the construction of “salt chambers” which functioned as rudimentary morgues for body storage prior to their transfer to Tishreen Hospital for documentation and interment in graves on military property. Amnesty International employed the term “human slaughterhouse” to characterize Saydnaya and claimed that the executions had received authorization from the highest echelons of the Assad government, asserting that these actions constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Assad government rejected Amnesty’s allegations as “baseless” and “devoid of truth”, maintaining that all executions in Syria adhered to proper legal procedures. Monday evening, the head of the Islamist militant organization whose military campaign brought about the conclusion of Assad’s 24-year governance declared that former high-ranking officials responsible for supervising the torture of political detainees would face accountability. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), stated that the names of these officials would be disclosed and efforts would be made to repatriate those who had sought refuge overseas. He further mentioned that incentives would be provided to individuals offering details regarding their locations.