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Syria - Escape From Assad's Torture Chamber

December 20, 2024

The Assad Regime in Syria has fallen. More than 30,000 people have been freed, but another 100,000 are still missing.

https://p.dw.com/p/4oQi3
Video Stills aus: Syria - Escape from Assad's Torture Chamber
Image: DW

Families are desperately searching for their loved ones - including Hind Gharz al Deen, whose son Hussam is missing.

Video from "Syria - Escape from Assad's Torture Chamber"
Image: DW

Hussam disappeared eight years ago. Together with her younger son Ahmad, Hind visits hospitals, morgues and the notorious Sednaya prison to look for him. The family is one of thousands in Syria clinging to the hope of finding their loved ones alive. In one hospital, photos of recovered bodies cover a wall. Many of the victims are horribly disfigured - a further reason why the search is agonizing for family members.

For Ahmad, looking for his older brother in Sednaya prison is particularly distressing. He was imprisoned there himself after being arrested in 2018. The horrors he suffered still haunt him: the brutal conditions and the cruel torture. Ahmad recounts his experiences on December 8th, the day he and his fellow inmates were freed. Hind and Ahmad find no trace of Hussam, but they continue to search.
 

 

 

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