On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture observed on June 26, Muhammed Salih Assaf, who was released on June 9, recalled the inhumane torture and cruelties he witnessed during his imprisonment.
In 2017, Assaf was detained by PKK/YPG terrorists during a family visit in Afrin at the age of 17 and was handed over to the régime's security units.
Assaf spent about five years in régime prisons.
After footage of the "Tadamon Massacre" carried out by the Assad régime forces surfaced in April, the régime passed a "repentance law."
Syria's military intelligence service conducted the massacre in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus in April 2013, with Palestinians among the 41 victims, according to a report by the British daily The Guardian. Members of military intelligence Branch 227 made civilians run toward a mass grave while shooting at them.
According to the latest figures released by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the Assad régime released only 539 people under the amnesty law. The organization said that at least 151,462 people are still held in régime prisons.
Assaf said he was handed over to régime forces by PKK/YPG terrorists during Operation Olive Branch launched by Türkiye in the northwestern district of Afrin in early 2018.
"They (régime forces) interrogated us and some of us were tortured to death. They wanted us to admit that we participated in armed actions, but we did not."
He said that on the first day, he was tortured to the extent that he suffered memory loss due to a blow to the head.
"They were inflicting all kinds of torture. They tortured (inmates) with plastic water pipes and sticks. I had wounds all over my body. They enjoyed the torture they inflicted on us."
The régime forces tortured older prisoners even more, Assaf said, adding: "Those who enter the prison either become disabled or die before they can see their families."
Underlining that he was randomly selected under the so-called amnesty law, Assaf said fellow prisoners asked him to inform their families of their whereabouts. "All I want is for everyone to be released and their torture to end," he said.'
Syria's military intelligence service conducted the massacre in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus in April 2013, with Palestinians among the 41 victims, according to a report by the British daily The Guardian. Members of military intelligence Branch 227 made civilians run toward a mass grave while shooting at them.
According to the latest figures released by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), the Assad régime released only 539 people under the amnesty law. The organization said that at least 151,462 people are still held in régime prisons.
Assaf said he was handed over to régime forces by PKK/YPG terrorists during Operation Olive Branch launched by Türkiye in the northwestern district of Afrin in early 2018.
"They (régime forces) interrogated us and some of us were tortured to death. They wanted us to admit that we participated in armed actions, but we did not."
He said that on the first day, he was tortured to the extent that he suffered memory loss due to a blow to the head.
"They were inflicting all kinds of torture. They tortured (inmates) with plastic water pipes and sticks. I had wounds all over my body. They enjoyed the torture they inflicted on us."
The régime forces tortured older prisoners even more, Assaf said, adding: "Those who enter the prison either become disabled or die before they can see their families."
Underlining that he was randomly selected under the so-called amnesty law, Assaf said fellow prisoners asked him to inform their families of their whereabouts. "All I want is for everyone to be released and their torture to end," he said.'
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