After the end of Bashar al-Assad’s reign of terror, revolutionaries also opened the prison gates in Syria. Now something incredible is coming to light: murder, torture and destruction took place in the dungeons for decades. Ragheed al-Tatari is one of those released. The former pilot spent 43 years in various prisons for refusing to bomb people.
Ragheed al-Tatari is considered the longest-serving political prisoner in Syria, according to the human rights organization The Syria Campaign. He was imprisoned in the early 1980s during the regime of Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, without any real protest ever arising. After 43 years in various prisons and torture dungeons, he was released from the central prison in Damascus on Sunday.
Arrested at age 27
Al-Tatari’s first arrest took place in 1980 because, as a 27-year-old pilot in the Syrian air force, he refused to follow orders to bomb insurgent positions against the Assad regime in the city of Hama. At the time, Assad’s father – like his son after him – cracked down extremely hard on rebels and civilians, resulting in countless massacres.
After a brief, temporary release, Ragheed al-Tatari was put behind bars again in 1981 and remained in captivity until last Sunday. He initially spent two years in solitary confinement in Mezzeh prison, then was transferred to a notorious dungeon in Palmyra, from 2000 he was imprisoned in Sednaya and in 2011 he was taken to Adra Central Prison, where he remained until his release.
Even children freed from “slaughterhouse”.
There were brutal conditions in Syrian prisons. Torture was commonplace and thousands of people were executed. One of the worst prisons was the Saidnaya military prison north of Damascus, also known as ‘Assad’s slaughterhouse’. According to the rebels, hundreds of prisoners, including children, were released from underground chambers.
In recent days, dogs and sound sensors have been used to search for additional secret cells in the basement. Apparently no further victims have been found. But before that, something terrible was discovered. “There were bodies in the ovens. “It was absurd what we saw and this behavior is against humanity,” a witness told Al Jazeera. It is estimated that around 50,000 prisoners have now been released.
Assad fled to Russia after the fall
According to Russian state media, Assad fled to Russia after his fall. The fighters launched a surprise offensive in northwestern Syria on November 27 and advanced on the capital within a few days. The Islamists announced that “all those wrongly imprisoned” must be released.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
