Former guards called the prison ‘the end of humanity’.
Inmates, ‘a death sentence’.
Amnesty International is providing a glimpse inside Syria’s Sednaya prison – one of the most terrifying places in the world to be locked up.
A new report from the human rights organisation says up 13 thousand people were secretly hanged at the military complex outside Damascus.
Amnesty spoke to former guards, detainees and officials – all described repeated torture and the systematic deprivation of basic needs. It alleges the hangings happened on a weekly basis, usually on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Amnesty says the executions took place between 2011 and 2015, but are probably still being carried out. It says they amount to war crimes, and is calling on the UN to investigate.The prisoners faced sham trials before military courts. Inmates included people critical of the regime and former military personnel suspected of disloyalty.
The Syrian government has previously rejected similar reports denying mass killing or mistreating detainees.
(Reuters)
