A new report reveals that more than 1,000 Syrians perished in detention at the Mezzeh military airport on the outskirts of Damascus, either through execution, torture, or severe mistreatment. The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) identified at least seven suspected mass grave sites linked to these deaths, using a combination of witness testimonies, satellite imagery, and leaked documents.
According to the report, set to be published on Thursday and shared exclusively with Reuters, many victims were civilians and military personnel executed by firing squad or hanging. The bodies were then buried in mass graves across Damascus, including some on the airport grounds.
While Reuters could not independently verify all claims, satellite images reviewed by the news agency showed evidence of disturbed earth consistent with mass graves. Two specific sites—one at the Mezzeh military airport and another at a cemetery in Najha—contained large trenches matching the descriptions provided by witnesses.
Accounts of Torture and Execution
One of the report’s authors, Shadi Haroun, a former detainee, recounted the brutal conditions at Mezzeh, where he was held between 2011 and 2012 for organizing protests. He described how prisoners endured relentless torture and interrogations, often leading to death.
“Detainees never saw beyond their cell walls or the interrogation room, but we could hear gunshots every few days,” Haroun told Reuters. “Even minor wounds from torture were left untreated, leading to gangrene, amputations, and eventual death.”
The SJAC collaborated with the Association for the Detained and Missing Persons in Sednaya Prison to interview 156 survivors and eight former intelligence officers who worked for Syria’s Air Force Intelligence, the agency responsible for detaining and killing perceived regime critics.
Mass Disappearances and Assad’s Legacy
A senior official in Syria’s new government, which replaced Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, confirmed the mass disappearances. Abu Baker, a colonel in the Interior Ministry, said:
“This discovery does not surprise us. There are over 100,000 missing persons from Assad’s prisons, and their fates remain unknown. Finding these graves is part of the dark legacy of the Assad regime.”
The Syrian conflict, which began in 2011, has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, with Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, accused of war crimes, including mass executions and the use of chemical weapons.
The Mezzeh military airport, a notorious detention site, reportedly held 29,000 prisoners between 2011 and 2017. By 2020, Air Force Intelligence had repurposed hangars, dormitories, and offices into makeshift prisons.
The SJAC estimated that 1,154 detainees died between 2011 and 2017, based on leaked intelligence records cross-verified with witness testimonies. This figure excludes those executed after being sentenced to death by a military field court inside a hangar.
US Charges Against Syrian Officials
In December 2023, the US Justice Department unsealed war crimes charges against two high-ranking Syrian Air Force Intelligence officers. The charges accuse them of committing cruel and inhuman treatment against detainees, including US citizens, at the Mezzeh prison.
The report sheds new light on Assad’s systematic brutality, reinforcing long-standing allegations of mass killings and enforced disappearances under his regime.
Source : https://www.timesofisrael.com/over-1000-syrians-died-in-airport-prison-under-assad-report-says/