Syrian civil defense group urges Putin to pressure Assad to reveal locations of secret prisons

Assad fled to Russia – one of his key allies — after rebels took the Syrian capital, Damascus, over the weekend.

“We at the Syrian Civil Defense have submitted a request to the United Nations through an international mediator, urging Russia to pressure the criminal wanted for justice in Syria, Bashar al-Assad, to hand over maps of secret prison locations and lists of detainees’ names so we can reach them as quickly as possible,” White Helmets Director Raed Al-Saleh posted to X on Tuesday.

He said the “brutality and crimes committed by the Assad regime against Syrians — through killing, detention, and torture — are beyond description, prolonging the pain and heartbreak of mothers” adding that justice for the victims and holding “perpetrators accountable” would be “the first step towards healing wounds and supporting peace-building efforts”.

The Assad government’s notorious detention facilities were black holes where, as far back as the 1970s, anyone deemed an opponent disappeared, CNN wrote in a report.

Saydnaya prison was one of the most infamous sites, known as “the slaughterhouse” – where as many as 13,000 people were hanged between 2011 and 2015, according to Amnesty International.

Syrian rebels freed many prisoners from Saydnaya amid their swift advance this past weekend. But the White Helmets did not find any evidence of secret, sealed-off areas holding people after speculation mounted online of secret cells.