Government forces execute Daraa detainee in Saydnaya Prison
DARAA, Syria (North Press) – The family of a detainee from the northern countryside of Daraa, southern Syria, received on Monday documents confirming his death in Saydnaya prison in Damascus.
A local source told North Press that Abdullah Hussein al-Akhras’ family was notified of his death inside Saydnaya Prison in Rif Dimashq, eight months after his arrest.
The source added that al-Akhras, originally from the town of Ghabagheb in the north of the city of Daraa, was apprehended at a government checkpoint while returning from northern Syria to Daraa.
It was explained that al-Akhras had previously defected from the government forces and fled to Turkey. However, he was deported to northern Syria, which forced him to return to his hometown in Daraa.
The infamous Saydnaya Prison is located 30 kilometers north of Damascus. The prison is affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense and is run by the Military Police. It has become infamous for brutal tortures after guards in the prison used excessive force against some detainees who staged a revolt in 2008. The prison is comprised of two buildings and can take between 10,000 and 20,000 prisoners.
Cases of people from Daraa being killed in the notorious prison due to severe torture have become recurrent since a government settlement was carried out there in 2018. Amnesty International has described the prison as a “human slaughterhouse” and “the prison where the Syrian state quietly slaughters its own people.”