Former detainee in Syria's 'slaughterhouse' says Assad regime toppling 'deserves everything'

Omar Alshogre watched in amazement as political prisoners in one of Syria's most notorious prisons were released from a facility used to torture and kill anyone accused of speaking ill of the Syrian government.

“The time we live in today, the freedom of the Assad regime, is worth all the pain, all the suffering, all the fear, all the disappointment, all the betrayal,” said Alshogre, who was imprisoned and tortured in state prisons for three years.

“It's worth everything. The joy I felt yesterday, it's worth going through everything for it.”

In less than two weeks, Syrian rebels have swept across the country in an attempt to take control of the country and topple former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and his family's half-century dictatorship.

One of the first tasks at hand: to release those who have been forcibly disappeared and are being held in prisons and security centers in cities including Aleppo, Homs, Hama and Damascus, enduring years of incognito detention since the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011 and even decades ago.

Syrian families, many of whom have been imprisoned or have relatives or friends captured by the regime, wait anxiously outside prisons and security agencies wondering if their loved ones are alive or dead.

Thousands of them flocked to the Sednaya military prison, one of the centers liberated by the rebel groups. There, the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group also known as the Syrian Civil Defence, were conducting searches “focusing on hidden doors or undiscovered basements” after reports from other survivors that others may be trapped underground.

In a statement to X, the group said its teams – which include search and rescue agencies, wall breaching experts, steel door operators, trained dog units and medical responders – are all working to find any hidden cells. As of Monday evening, no evidence has been found to confirm these reports.

“The search will continue until all areas of the prison have been thoroughly explored,” said the White Helmets.

The guards are 'old' in the ways of torture

According to a United Nations report, there are more than 100 detention centers across Syria, as well as an unknown number of secret facilities.

Of those, the two most notorious prisons are Tadimori, in the desert of the ancient city of Palmyra, and Sednaya, known as the “house of slaughter,” on the northern outskirts of Damascus.

Alshogre, who spent a year in Sednaya before being released, says the guards were “smart” at abusing prisoners physically and mentally.

“There's nothing like Sednaya prison. It's the worst torture chamber I've ever seen,” Alshogre, who was transferred to a total of 10 Syrian prisons, told CBC News on Monday.

“You're not allowed to scream. You're not allowed to speak. You whisper. And when they beat you, you have to keep screaming in your heart… But if you let go, they torture you.”

Torture, killing and starvation

Syrian prisons had a bad reputation for their harsh conditions. Torture is a system, say human rights groups, torturers and ex-prisoners. Secret killings have been reported at more than a dozen sites run by Syrian intelligence, as well as other sites.

In 2013, a Syrian rebel known as “Caesar” smuggled more than 53,000 images that human rights groups say show clear evidence of widespread torture, disease and starvation in Syrian prisons.

Syria's feared security services and prisons serve to isolate Assad's opponents, and to instill fear in his people, said Lina Khatib, fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at London's Chatham House.

“The worry of being thrown into one of Assad's notorious prisons created distrust among the Syrian people,” Khatib said. “Assad has fostered this culture of terror to control and eliminate political opposition.”

Alshogre, director of detainee affairs at the Syrian Emergency Task Force, said the Syrian people will work to ensure that Assad, who was granted political asylum in Russia, is prosecuted for the crimes and atrocities committed.

“It is not over for him, he will be persecuted,” said Alshogre.

Dozens of prisoners were secretly executed every week

Videos widely shared on social media over the weekend showed dozens of prisoners running around in joy after the insurgents let them go, some barefoot and others in skimpy clothes. One of them cries for joy after finding out that the government has fallen.

Female prisoners in Sednaya, some with their children, screamed when men broke the locks on their cell doors on Sunday.

Amnesty International and other organizations say scores of people are being secretly killed each week in Sednaya, estimating that 13,000 Syrians were killed between 2011 and 2016.

“Don't be afraid … Bashar Assad has fallen! Why are you afraid?” said one of the rebels in the video, as he tried to evict the women from their small, overcrowded cells.

As of Monday afternoon, tens of thousands of prisoners have been released, said Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, who has been monitoring the war against opposition groups based in Britain.

'I have not seen the sun until today,' said the released prisoner

Bashar Barhoum, one of the prisoners released on Sunday, woke up in his prison cell in Damascus that morning, thinking it would be the last day of his life.

The 63-year-old writer should have been executed after being imprisoned for seven months.

But he soon realized that the men at the door were not Assad's well-known security guards, ready to take him to his death. Instead, they were rebels who would free him.

“I haven't seen the sun until today,” Barhoum told The Associated Press after walking in disbelief through the streets of Damascus. “Instead of me dying tomorrow, thank God, He gave me a new way of life.”

WATCH | What will Syria look like after Assad is ousted?

Bashar al-Assad's regime has fallen: What next for Syria?

The Syrian government fell early Sunday morning. CBC's Briar Stewart breaks down what happened and what it could mean for the future of the country and the conflicts in the Middle East.

Rebels struggled to control the chaos on Monday as crowds gathered at the Damascus Court of Justice.

Heba, who only gave her name when speaking to the Associated Press, said she was looking for her brother and sister-in-law, who were arrested after reporting a stolen car in 2011 and have not been seen since.

“They took us so badly,” said Heba, her mother's cousin, who also disappeared. “We don't know anything about them… See [the Assad government] it burned our hearts.”

The UN is calling for access to detention facilities

After the release of political prisoners, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) called on all organizations in Syria on Sunday to facilitate the access of independent human rights organizations to the country, including detention facilities.

It emphasized the importance of keeping documents for evidence.

“It is the responsibility of those in power now to ensure that such atrocities do not happen again within the walls of Sednaya or any other detention center in Syria,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the commission's chairman, statement.

Meanwhile, many Syrians hope that this change will lead to a completely different country – one that treats everyone equally.

“Now it is our responsibility, as Syrians, to show the world that we really wanted freedom and democracy,” Alshogre said.

“We must make sure that we closely monitor the processes that are happening today to ensure that we end up having elections and having the government we want.