In the torture center in Syria, prisoners survived on olives.

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The Mezze Prison, located in the center of Syria's capital Damascus, was captured in images. It has been revealed that prisoners in the prison survive with olives while marking the passage of time by carving notches into the walls with the pits.

"WE SLEPT SITTING"

With the fall of the Assad regime, the experiences in Assad's torture centers in Syria began to come to light. Cells where prisoners are held in the Mezze Prison, located in the center of Damascus, were filmed. It was observed that in 2 square meter cells where 10 people were kept, the prisoners could only fit by sitting, highlighting the inhumane conditions they faced. Former prisoner Hüssam Khatip recounted that he slept sitting for months and used plastic bottles for his toilet needs.

"WE SLEPT IN TURN"

28-year-old university student Hüssam Khatip, who stayed in Mezze Prison for 3 months in 2016, stated that he was detained for a total of 1 year due to anti-Assad WhatsApp messages and that he was tortured there. The young university student expressed that he could not forget the time he spent in prison and the tortures he experienced, stating that he slept sitting for 3 months and sometimes they slept in turn in a fetal position.

THEY DREW A CALENDAR ON THE WALL WITH OLIVE PITS

Khatip noted that each cell contained calendars drawn on the wall with soap or olive pits, explaining that prisoners calculated the time spent in prison with these calendars. He stated that pictures and writings were made on the wall with green hand soaps, and that they used the ropes they fixed to the wall with soaps as hangers, drying their clothes this way.

EYE MASKS IN TORTURE ROOMS

Khatip provided information about the tortures prisoners faced in the prison, stating that their hands and feet were chained when taken to torture rooms, and blindfolds were placed over their eyes. Khatip mentioned that prisoners beaten with iron rods in dark rooms were subjected to physical torture and psychological violence. In the footage taken, buckets containing used eye masks were seen in front of the door of the torture room.

"SEEING THE SUN WAS LIKE HEAVEN"

Khatip stated that they took showers once every two weeks in the prison, sometimes this period was extended, and when they entered the toilet, the guards counted up to 10 suddenly, and if they were late, they were beaten. The young university student said that they often ate 5-6 olives as a meal. Khatip noted that prisoners who endeared themselves to the guards and did not cause trouble in the prison were rewarded with the opportunity to go out to the garden, saying, "Going out to the garden was like heaven; we couldn't see the sun. We could only distinguish between night and day through a small ceiling window."

IDENTITIES FOUND IN THE PRISON

Especially in the section of the prison where the initial interrogations were conducted, identities belonging to female and male university students were notably found inside and around the cell area. The fate of these students is still unknown.