The chilling accounts of the prisoners who came out of the "slaughterhouse" in Syria

Some people have been seen emerging from the gloomy corridors of Syrian prisons, like mummies rising from the grave.

Some have regained consciousness only after being reunited with family members who have not seen them for a long time. Some have been seen crying with joy after being released from an institution that is widely known as a "human slaughterhouse".

The fall of the dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime has opened Pandora's Box, as terrifying confessions have emerged from Syrian prisons.

Area A of the Sajdnaja prison, a military-supervised complex north of Damascus, is where thousands of people have been held, tortured and executed over the years.

Between 2011 and 2018, more than 30.000 people were executed or died of starvation, medical negligence, or torture, according to estimates by London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Sajdnaya - also known as Sednaya - was clearly a Syrian creation, intended to imprison and punish Islamist extremists first, then political prisoners or anyone seen as a threat to the regime, said Philip Luther, head of the research in the international organization, Amnesty International.

Since Assad fled the country at the weekend, activists have rushed to prisons to open their doors, freeing people who have been held there for decades.

"In short, I have no knowledge that the Sajdnaya operation had instructions or was inspired by external entities such as Iran or Russia," Luther told Radio Free Europe.

"The prison operation appears to have served the security objectives of the Syrian authorities."

A few hours after the prison doors were broken, thousands of people came out of the facilities.

# Syria: this is reportedly a photo shot tonight of the infamous Saydnaya prison N. of # Damascus.
This is the biggest Assad's slaughterhouse in the country.
Once taken, expect scenes/testimonies reminiscent of the Nazi camps.
More on the jail: https://t.co/Hwt1FzmccU pic.twitter.com/aijmIxn87Q

- Qalaat Al Mudiq (@QalaatAlMudiq) December 7, 2024

In some videos verified by Radio Free Europe, people, who appear to be rebels or insurgents, are seen searching for administrative files, while many others are seen running through the corridors, rejoicing at the release of the prisoners.

⚠️ هشدار!

تکان‌دینہ از زدانہ #صيدنايا در حال انتاثر, کیشہهای از بوست‌ها و اجساد انسان کے به به باشر الاساد بوده‌اند به به بهین اجساد پس از تہلہهای کی روست کیں است استما ایک از درهای اکساد ین زدان شد بیدان شد. pic.twitter.com/CpXQ4xBS4c

— Truske Sadeghi | تروسكە صادقی (@truskesadeghi) December 9, 2024

Several other men were seen stunned and hiding in the prison premises, not knowing that they had been released.
"Don't be afraid! The regime has fallen! Don't panic! You are free!", a man can be heard saying in another video verified by Radio Free Europe.

فتج سجون الملكة الأول
the Red pic.twitter.com/PVzGXP0PQT

— بشاير حوران ⚙️ (@bashaer165) December 8, 2024

"I haven't eaten a cookie in nine years," said another man happily, as another prisoner fed him.

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨
BREAKING:

A group of Syrian prisoners has been freed from Sednaya Prison (the Red Prison).

It is believed that thousands of Syrians remain in other floors of the same building. pic.twitter.com/y2WlC9wOqh

- Omar Abu Layla (@ OALD24) December 8, 2024

Rumors that the complex was very well fortified prompted people to equip themselves with advanced demolition tools to tear down the concrete walls.

K9 teams are assisting in the search at Sednaya Prison, focusing on hidden doors or undiscovered basements that might hold detainees beyond those released yesterday.#WhiteHelmets #Saydnaya pic.twitter.com/dgf2gjBoFv

— The White Helmets (@SyriaCivilDef) December 9, 2024

The humanitarian organization, the White Helmets, has collected many hammers to knock down the walls.

The group has said through a statement, on November 9, that it has not discovered any "hidden area in the complex".

In 2017, the US State Department accused the Syrian Government of building a crematorium in Sajdnaja, and accused prison officials of killing about 50 people a day, mostly by hanging.

US officials have accused Syria of carrying out the killings through "the unconditional support of Russia and Iran", although officials later said there was no evidence that Russia and Iran were involved in the crematorium.

"This is the Sajdnaya prison. This is the food served. These are the cells", a man can be heard saying while recording the interior of the prison.

"They feed them cabbage."

From inside #SednayaPrison

Prisoners' food..# Syria pic.twitter.com/5uDC0Ta403

— Qusay Noor (@QUSAY_NOOR_) December 8, 2024

Prison survivors, their families and activists have reported that some prisoners have been held at Sajdnaja for years – if not decades.

In another video, which has been widely circulated on social networks, but which Radio Free Europe has not been able to verify, a man can be seen who cannot speak due to shock, and who has been held in prison for 13 years.

Since yesterday evening, I've been grappling with deep depression due to the videos emerging from Sednaya Prison and other prison detainees. I can't avoid watching them because we have a responsibility to document this history and show the world the kind of regime we are... pic.twitter.com/9zCTz9bHFo

— Mzahem Alsaloum (@Mzahem_Alsaloum) December 9, 2024

The opening of Sajdnaya has caused an uproar throughout Damascus and other cities.

"Ten years in prison! Ten years!" said a person released on December 8.

10 سنين بالسجن 10 سنين!
ایش صار? the system collapsed!

علاف المعتقلين تم الإفراج عنهم من سجون النسام السقط #ردع_العدوان# سوريا #سجن_صيدنايا #Easter_Easter #السوري_التبديل #حمس_تتحرر #ردع_العدوان #سوريا_حرة # سورية #دمشق_تتحرر #عاجل_الآن 💚✌️ pic.twitter.com/WyhyZrAki2

— ردع العدوان (@3M_SI) December 8, 2024

In another video that has been circulating on social networks, a woman who has allegedly spent many years in Syrian prisons, is seen crying as she joins her two children.

Riyad Avlar, who has been in prison for 12 years and is now co-founder of the Association of Detainees and Disappeared in Sednaya Prison - an organization based in Turkey - compared the prison to what he has heard about prisons in North Korea.

"People need to understand that Assad's regime was like Hitler's, like the Nazis. Just as bad", said Avlar for Radio Free Europe.