The line of traffic leading to Saydnaya prison north of Damascus was filled with people from all over the country, hoping to locate their missing family members. Rumors of an underground area known as the red section being full of thousands of prisoners detained by the Assad regime spurred many to make the journey.
One woman, Maysoon Labut, traveled from Dara’a in search of her three brothers and son-in-law. She expressed the urgency of the situation, fearing for the lives of those trapped in the prison.
As cries of 'Allahu Akbar' echoed and gunshots rang out, the crowd pushed toward the prison, hoping to find a way into the red section. Despite efforts by workers from the White Helmets organization to locate an entrance, no evidence of secret cells was found.
Family members combed through documents left behind by the fleeing regime, desperately seeking information about their loved ones who had disappeared in Saydnaya. The prison, known as 'the slaughterhouse,' symbolizes the horrors of arbitrary detention and torture under the Assad regime.
One woman held up a photo of her missing brother, unsure of his fate after 12 years. The uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts of the disappeared prisoners has left many families in anguish, unsure if their loved ones are alive or dead.
While rumors of thousands still trapped in Saydnaya may be unfounded, the possibility that many more were executed within its walls than previously believed is a grim reality that families are forced to confront.
