Turkish rescue agency joins effort to search infamous Syria jail

DAMASCUS

A team of Turkish rescuers began an in-depth search of Syria's infamous Saydnaya prison on Dec. 16, a spokesman for Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has announced.

Located just north of Damascus, the prison has become a symbol of the rights abuses of the Assad clan, especially since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

Prisoners held inside the complex, which was the site of extrajudicial executions, torture and forced disappearances, were freed early last week by the rebels who ousted Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.

AFAD said it had sent a team of nearly 80 people to conduct a search-and-rescue operation to "find people thought to be trapped in Sadnaya military prison,” with its director due to give a press conference outside the prison about its mission, spokesman Kubilay Özyurt told AFP.

The complex is thought to descend several levels underground, fueling suspicion more prisoners could be being held in as yet undiscovered hidden cells.

But the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP), believes the rumors are unfounded.

AFAD said the team, which is specialized in heavy urban search and rescue operations, will work with advanced search and rescue devices.

The prison complex was thoroughly searched by Syria's White Helmets emergency workers but they wrapped up their operations last week, saying they were unable to find any more prisoners.

Rescuers have punched holes in walls to investigate rumors of secret levels housing missing prisoners, but found nothing, leaving many thousands of families disappointed, their relatives are probably dead and may never be found.

ADMSP said the rebels freed more than 4,000 prisoners from Saydnaya, which Amnesty International has described as a "human slaughterhouse.”

The organization, which is based in southern Türkiye, believes more than 30,000 prisoners died there as a result of execution, torture, starvation or a lack of medical care between 2011 and 2018.