Atrocities in Notorious Sednaya Prison Continue Unabated

Press release

Syrian Coalition

National Commission on the Affairs of Detainees and Missing Persons

December 25, 2018

Thousands of Syrians with complete honesty and loyalty to their country are still been taken to the gallows of Assad as part of the war crimes and crimes against humanity taking place in the notorious regime-run Sednaya Prison. The Assad regime has significantly accelerated executions of detainees in the prisons in recent months.

The warnings we have repeatedly issued over the past months have been confirmed by a report published by The Washington Post on Monday. It revealed that Assad’s military judges are accelerating the pace they issue death sentences in the prison. It also gave a glimpse of the atrocities and violations that have been taking place in the facility since 2011 and about which we have always provided survivors’ testimonies and documents.

Absent a deterrent action, the Assad regime will continue with these crimes and executions aimed at instilling fear and terror in the hearts of Syrian civilians as well as killing their present and future. Putting an end to these crimes requires collective action and firm positions by the international community.

Thousands of Syrian families have been living in constant concern and fear for the fate of their loved ones for the past several years. They are still awaiting desperately for a positive international position or active intervention that will do them justice.

Indeed, the Assad regime and its allies have relentlessly pursued diabolical policies aimed at undermining all chances of reaching a political solution and turning the clock back through the shedding of more blood, destruction, and crimes.

It is imperative, therefore, that the UN Security Council take action to ensure that mass executions of detainees are stopped immediately and unequivocally as well as ensure the opening of all secret and public detention centers before teams of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Ending the crimes of genocide against detainees is a priority that cannot be postponed. It is also a collective responsibility of all states and organizations advocating human rights and freedom. This requires them to exert real pressure to put an end to the mass executions of detainees and protect Syrians from arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance.