Executive summary
On the occasion of the 150th day since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies publishes this testimony of lawyer Mohammed Sablouh, Director of the Legal Program at the Centre, following his visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus, from 23 to 27 December 2024, as part of a human rights delegation. The visit granted him access to several notorious detention centers and prisons.
The primary goals of the visit were to observe the conditions of detention and to follow up on the cases of forcibly disappeared individuals, while documenting the dire circumstances inside Syrian prisons. This testimony draws on Sablouh’s direct observations and testimonies gathered during the mission to present a snapshot of the reality of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and systematic abuse that have characterized the Assad regime’s prison system.
Beyond documentation, the testimony offers concrete recommendations to the international community and human rights organizations, urging them to pursue accountability for those responsible for these grave violations and to uphold justice for the victims who continue to suffer under a legacy of repression and impunity.
