Ruth Sherlock

Outside this section of the prison, we meet Aissa Hosseini. He's searching for his three cousins and asks us what we've seen inside. The Assad regime didn't usually tell families where the detained were held or even if they were still alive. Husseini searched every prison in the capital, every institution. It's too much. Some 100,000 Syrians disappeared into jails like these, say rights groups.

Outside this section of the prison, we meet Aissa Hosseini. He's searching for his three cousins and asks us what we've seen inside. The Assad regime didn't usually tell families where the detained were held or even if they were still alive. Husseini searched every prison in the capital, every institution. It's too much. Some 100,000 Syrians disappeared into jails like these, say rights groups.

It's getting dark, and rescuers end their search in Sednaya. There are no more secret cells, no more hope for families like Husseini. As we leave, we meet Samer Haida. He's come with his four young children.

It's getting dark, and rescuers end their search in Sednaya. There are no more secret cells, no more hope for families like Husseini. As we leave, we meet Samer Haida. He's come with his four young children.

It's getting dark, and rescuers end their search in Sednaya. There are no more secret cells, no more hope for families like Husseini. As we leave, we meet Samer Haida. He's come with his four young children.

It's so they remember the bloody legacy of the Assad regime, he says. So that we never forget. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Sednaya Prison.

It's so they remember the bloody legacy of the Assad regime, he says. So that we never forget. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Sednaya Prison.

It's so they remember the bloody legacy of the Assad regime, he says. So that we never forget. Ruth Sherlock, NPR News, Sednaya Prison.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's just this kind of huge outpouring of grief happening right now. And Aisha, the United Nations is saying that some 150,000 people could still be missing. And in Sednaya prison, when the rebels threw open the cell doors, you know, only about 2,000 people apparently came out.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's just this kind of huge outpouring of grief happening right now. And Aisha, the United Nations is saying that some 150,000 people could still be missing. And in Sednaya prison, when the rebels threw open the cell doors, you know, only about 2,000 people apparently came out.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, there's just this kind of huge outpouring of grief happening right now. And Aisha, the United Nations is saying that some 150,000 people could still be missing. And in Sednaya prison, when the rebels threw open the cell doors, you know, only about 2,000 people apparently came out.

But there are tens of thousands of people who are believed to have been thrown into that prison during the course of the civil war.

But there are tens of thousands of people who are believed to have been thrown into that prison during the course of the civil war.

But there are tens of thousands of people who are believed to have been thrown into that prison during the course of the civil war.

This really was the big question for us. NPR's regional producer Jawad Rasallah and I, we started searching for people who might be able to help us find information, maybe witnesses to what happened inside Sidnaya. Jawad reached out to Syrian contacts and one person asked another. And in the way that happens, we were eventually put in touch with a former inmate and then another and then another.

This really was the big question for us. NPR's regional producer Jawad Rasallah and I, we started searching for people who might be able to help us find information, maybe witnesses to what happened inside Sidnaya. Jawad reached out to Syrian contacts and one person asked another. And in the way that happens, we were eventually put in touch with a former inmate and then another and then another.

This really was the big question for us. NPR's regional producer Jawad Rasallah and I, we started searching for people who might be able to help us find information, maybe witnesses to what happened inside Sidnaya. Jawad reached out to Syrian contacts and one person asked another. And in the way that happens, we were eventually put in touch with a former inmate and then another and then another.

And two of the men we spoke to had gotten out of the prison just days before, just when those doors were flung open by the rebels. they were really just shadows of their former selves. You know, they were like sickly thin. They had these like ribs protruding and these gaunt faces, their cheekbones were showing.

And two of the men we spoke to had gotten out of the prison just days before, just when those doors were flung open by the rebels. they were really just shadows of their former selves. You know, they were like sickly thin. They had these like ribs protruding and these gaunt faces, their cheekbones were showing.

And two of the men we spoke to had gotten out of the prison just days before, just when those doors were flung open by the rebels. they were really just shadows of their former selves. You know, they were like sickly thin. They had these like ribs protruding and these gaunt faces, their cheekbones were showing.