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Over the past 14 years in Syria, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives under torture in Syrian prisons, while thousands of detainees have been forcibly disappeared since 2011 until today.
The conditions of detention and imprisonment in Syria are unlike those in other countries. Prisoners suffer from harsh conditions, and their basic needs, particularly the healthcare provided to them, are not met.
On May 14, 2024, lawyer Thamer Talal died 10 days after his arrest by the Criminal Security Branch in the city of Hasakah in eastern Syria.
Talal was arrested in front of the Justice Palace in Hasakah on charges of transferring “ownership of stolen cars,” and the head of the Criminal Security Branch refused to transfer him to the hospital despite his deteriorating health condition. The body was handed over to his family a day after his death. It is unclear whether Talal died inside the branch due to torture, but it is certain that he needed hospital care and was not transferred.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the deaths of 13 people inside the security detention centers of the Syrian regime from early January to March 17, 2024. Among them was a person from the city of Al-Bukamal in eastern Deir ez-Zor, who died a month after his arrest in the Criminal Security Branch due to a lack of healthcare in the regime’s prisons.
Hospitals or Torture Dens?
The Washington Post published a report in April 2017, discussing how the regime’s hospitals in Syria have turned into torture dens.
The report talked about Hospital 601 and the nearby military hospitals in Tishreen and Harasta within the capital, Damascus, as well as military hospitals in Homs, Aleppo, and Daraa.
The newspaper presented eyewitness testimonies from prisoners and staff in the military hospitals of the Syrian regime, describing various methods of torture such as pulling hair while moving patients down the stairs, making them fall to the ground, tying their beds next to dead bodies, among others. One eyewitness mentioned that the prisoners’ dream was to take a hot shower.
Criminalization of Healthcare:
Many doctors working in hospitals and medical centers within areas controlled by the Syrian regime have been arrested for providing healthcare to detainees or protesters, as the regime criminalizes the provision of healthcare.
The organization Physicians for Human Rights published a study about the suffering of 1,644 healthcare workers detained by the regime in Syria between 2011 and 2012, whose fates ranged from survival to arrest or the unknown.
The study concluded that healthcare workers detained for providing medical care suffered worse outcomes than those detained for their political activities. The data showed that the probability of death for detainees was 400% higher due to providing healthcare compared to the probability of death for political reasons.
According to the study, the Syrian regime detains healthcare workers on the pretext that providing treatment and care to opponents, whom they consider terrorists, constitutes “material support for terrorism.” This criminalization of healthcare blatantly ignores the protection of medical care for patients and the wounded under international humanitarian law.
Caesar Photos:
Due to the “brutal” practices in the regime’s prisons and the lack of prisoner care, tens of thousands of inmates have died under torture or due to inadequate healthcare. Some were handed over as bodies to their families, while others were buried in mass graves.
In January 2014, photos were released showing the bodies of detainees killed under torture in Syrian regime prisons. These became known as the Caesar Photos, named after the alias used by the official forensic photographer for the military police, who took the photos and helped archive thousands of similar images.
These photos were taken between May 2011 and August 2013 as part of a routine procedure by the Syrian security apparatus to create a photographic record of thousands who died in detention since 2011. The complete set of Caesar photos includes 53,275 files.
Mass Graves or Healthcare Centers?
In October 2023, the Association of Detainees and the Missing in Sednaya Prison published a study based on a series of documentation efforts, detailing the methods of killing and disappearance in the regime’s military hospitals. The study covered the operations of military police, military intelligence, and Tishreen Military Hospital, documenting the transfer and mass burial of detainee bodies.
Titled “They Killed Them in Silence,” the study included interviews with 32 former detainees between 2011 and 2020. It explained how Tishreen Hospital treated those close to the “authorities” and their families while simultaneously serving as a site for eliminating detainees.
The study documented that the 36 medical departments in Tishreen Hospital, covering various specializations, did not always treat detainees equally or provide the required medical care, according to testimonies collected by the association.
Calls from Amnesty International:
Amnesty International has stated that detainees, including tens of thousands of those arbitrarily detained or forcibly disappeared, are at risk of illness due to being held in unsanitary conditions at sites run by security forces across the country.
In March 2020, Amnesty called on the Syrian government to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience and consider early or conditional releases for detainees at high risk, such as those with severe health conditions.
Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International, said that the Syrian government has a long record of denying prisoners and detainees the medical care and medication they urgently need.
Nelson Mandela Rules:
The Nelson Mandela Rules emphasize that providing healthcare to prisoners is the responsibility of the state. The relationship between healthcare professionals and prisoners is governed by the same ethical and professional standards as those applying to patients in the community.
Moreover, the rules require prison healthcare services to assess and care for the physical and mental health of prisoners, including those with special needs.
Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, the expanded rules, known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules,” reflect international standards established since the 1950s and provide detailed guidelines for protecting the rights of persons deprived of their liberty from pre-trial detainees to sentenced prisoners.
The rules are based on the commitment to treat all prisoners with respect for their inherent dignity and value as human beings, prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, and providing detailed guidance on a wide range of issues from disciplinary measures to medical services.
Healthcare in Prisons:
Human rights instruments call for prisoners to receive healthcare equivalent to that available to the general population. Governments are obligated to maintain prisoners’ health and promote public health within prisons.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) states that treaties and conventions require prison authorities to provide several essentials, including:
- Safe and healthy living conditions for all prisoners
- Protection from violence and coercion
- Adequate healthcare services and medications, preferably free of charge
- Information and education on health prevention and healthy lifestyles
- Implementation of primary health prevention measures
Recommendations to the Syrian Government:
Human Rights Watch issued recommendations regarding healthcare in Syrian prisons in accordance with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in its report “If the Dead Could Speak” on December 16, 2015. Key recommendations to the Syrian government included:
- Publishing official lists of all detainees who died in detention centers and prisons, including those managed by Syrian intelligence agencies
- Immediate cessation of enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and torture
- Providing detainees with nutritionally adequate food to maintain health and strength, which is of good quality, well-prepared, and served regularly, with drinking water available whenever needed
- Ensuring sufficient sanitary facilities for detainees and allowing regular access to bathing facilities, at least once a week
- Ensuring prompt access to healthcare for detainees
The Same Justice organization advocates for treating prisoners and political detainees according to the humane treatment standards outlined in human rights and international instruments. It emphasizes the necessity of healthcare provided by the government, treating detainees as “human beings first and detainees second”.
