BBC witnesses Saydnaya prison's foul and pestilent atmosphere

Inside the infamous prison's corridors it becomes clear how hard it will be to mend the Syria that Assad broke.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersJeremy Bowen: Assad's torture prison is worst I have seenBBC/Fred ScottSaydnaya prison sits on a forbidding hill about half an hour's drive from the centre of Damascus.

In the last few days the entrance has been repainted in the green, white and black of Syria's revolutionary flag. The new colours did not dispel the sinister atmosphere of the place.

As I walked through the gates, I thought of the despair that must have gripped the thousands of Syrians who made the same journey.

One estimate is that more than 30,000 detainees were killed in Saydnaya in the years since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. That is a large proportion of the more than 100,000 people, almost all men but including thousands of women – as well as children – who disappeared without trace into Bashar al-Assad's gulag.

Other parts of Assad's prison system were less cruel. Phone calls home were allowed, and families were allowed to visit.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62w5q52pngo

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