14.12.2024 17:41
Muaz Merab, a Lebanese man who spent 5 out of his 18 years in prison at Sednaya Prison in Syria, recounted the horrors he experienced. Merab stated that they were subjected to various forms of torture, saying, "The severity of the torture was such that the skin of the prisoners was being flayed."
Muaz Merab, a 50-year-old Lebanese man who was imprisoned in Syrian jails for 18 years, recounted the torture he experienced. Spending more than a third of his life in dungeons, Merab stated that he was detained by the Assad regime forces in the Duma district of Damascus while returning to his country from Iraq in 2006, during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, where he was working in the media sector.
"WITH EVERY BLOW, OUR FLESH WAS TEARING APART"
Merab, who had a 5-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter at the time of his detention, noted that the guards and the regime forces who interrogated him used various torture methods. Merab said, "Beatings, being left naked, intimidation, and humiliation were some of them. One of the tools they used to hit us was electric cables, and with every blow, our flesh was tearing apart, our bodies were bleeding. Among the torture methods was the 'wheel method.' They would tie a person's hands to their feet and squeeze them into a wheel, then they would hit them."
Merab conveyed that all the torture claims about the Assad regime's prisons are true, stating that due to the severity of the torture applied by the regime forces, people became willing to accept any accusations directed at them.
"THE SKINS OF DETAINEES WERE BEING FLAYED DUE TO TORTURE"
Merab explained that he was held in prisons like Fera Filistin and Kefrsuse in Syria, and that he spent 5 years in Sednaya Prison, which is referred to as a "human slaughterhouse" by the Assad regime, and has been held in Adra Prison since 2011. He mentioned that people died every day in Sednaya due to severe torture, stating, "The skins of detainees were being flayed due to the severity of the torture."
"FINGERS OF THOSE WHO REFUSED WERE CUT OFF"
Merab said that about 60 people stayed in a 7-meter room in the prison and that they were given a little bread and bulgur as food. He stated, "Detainees would fingerprint documents containing the accusations and so-called confessions without looking at them, while their hands were tied behind their backs; sometimes, the fingers of those who refused were cut off." Merab drew attention to the horrific events that took place in Assad's prisons, saying, "There was a Shabiha who had been convicted of his crimes. To be able to get his food rights, he would kill one or two people, usually choosing the sick and weak."