Iran’s secret torture prisons in Syria, uncovered

Introduction

Secret Iranian prisons disguised as Syrian government facilities, located in areas under its control are sites to the most heinous types of torture, and no less dangerous than government detention centers. After a lengthy research procedure and interviewing several experts familiar with the topic, including an ex-detainee, activists, and military personnel who were eyewitnesses to many of the crimes, in addition to leaked information by a member of Iran-backed militias, the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press was able to uncover information about these Iranian detention centers, their location, the crimes committed within them, the people responsible, and the Syrian government’s involvement.

Terror and torture facilities

“I will not survive” is the thought that first entered Ali al-Ahmed’s (pseudonym for a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards) mind as he narrated the first moment of his arrest by fellow IRGC members, under the charge of leaking information.

“They arrested and led me to an underground prison,” al-Ahmed said, “It was dark everywhere, no windows for sunlight to enter, a horrifying silence prevailed.”

“At first, I was held in al-Hingar prison, in the Deir ez-Zor military airport. They practiced brutal torture methods against civilian detainees, such as electric shocks, burning with fire until detainees passed out, stripping, and verbal abuse. We used to hear the sound of whips followed by screams from the civilian section. I lost all hope to survive.”

Al-Ahmad had his fair share of torture but said he had it easier than most after hearing other inmates’ torture stories and the creative torturing measures officers used on them. Al-Ahmad did not share other inmates’ stories for their safety.

Two months after staying in al-Hingar prison, al-Ahmad was transferred to Zamlat al-Muhr field detention center in the countryside of Homs, in central Syria, which “is not less dangerous than the first,” as he put it.

Al-Ahmad was released after the notables of his tribe intervened and paid over 10,000 USD to Ali Al-Habshan, one of the prison’s brokers, who hails from the city of Palmyra.

According to what the man witnessed in al-Hingar prison, it consists of underground cellars and dungeons. The prison divides into two sections, one for military detainees and the other for civilians, and it has three torture chambers.

Even though the Syrian government has legitimized the presence of Iranian forces in Syria by calling Iran to interfere in Syrian affairs, the actions of Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias present in Syria, such as arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, building secret prisons, and partnering with government forces in conducting military operations against civilians, are in violation of international humanitarian law. They could be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Secret Iranian prisons

Hussein (a pseudonym for a whistleblower) said to North Press, “there is an Iranian prison in Deir ez-Zor military airport with Syrian flags flying overhead, supervised by high-ranking officers of both Iranian and Iraqi nationalities. Iraqi members affiliated with Abu Fadel al-Abassi Brigade guard the prison.”

“They practice the worst kinds of torture. The detainee is flogged, shocked with electricity, burned with fire, and physically and verbally abused. Sunni detainees undergo the same methods of torture, however more severely because of their affiliation,” he added.

The source said that sometimes the severity of the “brutal” torture would reach the extent of killing and slitting the detainees’ throats.”

Our Department confirmed the existence of seven secret Iranian prisons in Syria: three in Homs and its countryside, three in Deir ez-Zor, one in Palmyra, and one in Damascus. All of them are surrounded with trenches and earth mounds, and are heavily guarded.

The prisons are located as follows: in Deir ez-Zor, there is the Deir ez-Zor airport prison, the Hamdan airport prison in Abu Kamal, and the al-Mayadin prison, while in Homs, there is a prison in the Sukhnah desert, one in Palmyra, and one at the Zamlat al-Muhr gas field.

Statistics

According to statistics obtained from a member of the Iranian-backed militias, over 530 civilians and military personnel have been arrested since 2023. Most of them are released after paying large amounts of money, over 10,000 USD for each detainee; through the mediation of influential commanders; or after joining the ranks of the militias.

The source said more than 50 individuals were transferred to al-Hingar prison at the Deir ez-Zor airport. It is difficult to know whether they are still alive or have been killed.

The Monitoring and Documentation Department has recorded the arrest of 49 civilians since the beginning of 2023.

Charges of Arrest

Salem al-Khaled (a pseudonym for another military source from within Deir ez-Zor) said most arbitrary arrests by Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias are conducted in Deir ez-Zor, particularly in al-Mayadin and Abu Kamal, as they have more influence there than government forces. 

Al-Khaled said, “most charges against civilians are groundless, and most are against people coming from areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) under the pretext of checking their security status, or are falsely accused of crimes. People coming from Gulf countries are detained as well, to press them for money.”

According to the source, large numbers of civilians are accused of joining political parties or being media activists who negatively reported on the presence and actions of Iranian forces on social media.

As for military detainees, they are charged with “treason,” leaking information and photos to foreign parties, or espionage for the US-led Global Coalition.

How is the Syrian government involved?

Iranian forces exploit the government forces’ positions to cover up and camouflage their presence against Israeli drones and airstrikes. They also take advantage of the economic conditions of the population in government-held areas to recruit and grant them privileges that high-ranking officers of government forces lack.

An activist from Deir ez-Zor who preferred to remain nameless for security reasons, said the actual authority in the city are Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias. The Syrian government’s influence is very weak.  

He said, “the government fears interfering with Iranian commanders, not to mention reaching agreements regarding detainees. There is not much coordination on the fate of detainees in their prisons.”

The Syrian government, which is considered the sole legitimate power in Deir ez-Zor, is weak compared to the Iranian presence and cannot meddle on the issue of Syrian detainees.

The situation is somewhat different in Homs, Damascus, and Palmyra, according to a military source of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Often, the detainees are transferred by Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias to government prisons if they find no proof of espionage. They are later released, after receiving money from the relatives of the detainees.

“Arrests morphed into a profitable business for Iran-backed militias and the government forces, as there is no one to hold them accountable,” he said.

Iranian actions in the eyes of the law

According to international law, the presence of Iranian forces as a foreign power in Syria requires them to respect human rights and not commit transgressions against its people.

The Iranian forces did not abide by international law and violated civilians’ rights, arresting, torturing, killing, and abusing them in every possible way. These actions are classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity whose perpetrators are punished.

Since the Syrian government called Iran to interfere with its internal affairs, Iran’s presence is legitimate and cannot be considered an occupation.

Aoiss Aldobouch, the human rights adviser of the Syria Justice and Accountability Center, said that the Iranian intervention in Syria through invitation was legal, as Iran had been invited to intervene by the Syrian government (intervention through invitation), but its violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity are “internationally criminalized and violate international humanitarian law.”

International humanitarian law imposes obligations on states and non-state military groups to abide by its rules.

All international human rights instruments and international criminal laws prohibit the detention of an individual without sentence, including Article 9 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

As for torture by Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias, they are prohibited by Article 4, common between the four Geneva conventions and Article 4–2 of the Additional Protocol II, which prohibits the “violation of personal dignity, particularly inhumane and degrading treatment.” It is also prohibited by customary international law and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In non-international armed conflicts, such as in Syria, they are violations of international laws and customs and are serious international crimes.