‘I met two prisoners who did not know their own names
In the hours after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, hundreds have descended on the site which for many most encapsulated his oppressive rule: the Saydnaya prison.
The notorious military complex has been used to detain tens of thousands of people who fell foul of the Syrian government over the decades.
Among those searching for people who have vanished inside its walls was Dr Sharvan Ibesh, chief executive of the aid group Bahar.
He arrived there at midnight to help a friend search for her father, who she believes has been held there for 13 years.
Dr Ibesh described scenes of “chaos”, with hundreds of people inside the prison trying to find their loves ones.”It was very disappointing. We did not find him and we got no information,” he told the BBC.
“My friend is so upset because for 13 years she dreamed of finding her father. We were told that many prisoners have been moved to another location.”
Syrian civil defence group, the White Helmets, has been searching for inmates at Saydnaya following accounts from prisoners of secret entrances to underground cells, though none have been found.
A mosque 20km away is being used as a meeting place for released prisoners and their families.Al-Salam mosque in Damascus is a hub where prisoners are taken to try to find their families
When Ibesh visited there on Sunday, he saw several newly freed people clearly in a traumatised state, he told the BBC.
A group of people surrounded two men who had just been released, trying to help them.
“[They] had been held in the prison for several years and they were disorientated,” Ibesh said. “They didn’t even know the time zone.”
“People around them were asking ‘what’s your name’ and ‘how old are you?’, but they could not even answer those questions.”
It was hard to tell how old they were from looking at them, Ibesh said, adding: “The men were totally lost, they were just staring ahead.”
While there have been many family reunions since the prisoners were released, the search continues for many others.
The BBC has also spoken to the mother of a man who was arrested and taken to Saydnaya prison in 2011. Fayzah Nadaf from Idlib said her son Thaer was arrested when he was 25, and “nobody knows the reason why”.
Fayzah’s other son has travelled to Damascus and is currently searching in mosques, hospitals and the Saydnaya prison itself. The family had renewed hope that they would see Thaer again because a doctor who had left the prison two months ago informed them that he was still alive. They believe he is being held in the underground section of the Saydnaya complex.
“I am looking forward to seeing my son again,” Fayzah said. He has been missing for 12 years, and all the time I prayed that he could see his children again”. -BBC
