The search for detainees in the notorious Sednaya prison continues, as their families wait at the gates and in the vicinity of the prison in the countryside of Damascus, for the past two days, hoping to find them, either in the records or in possibly secret or hidden cells.

Numerous appeals have been made by families and activists to anyone who has knowledge of the prison’s secrets and details. The Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets) teams arrived, but found no evidence of any secret doors being discussed, and are still working with breach tools, search equipment, and sound sensors up to today, Monday, December 9.

The Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) denied the existence of any individuals trapped in secret cells and stated that the prison is free of detainees in all its buildings (the white and red), along with appeals and clarifications for families and humanitarian and human rights organizations.

Access to prisons, including Sednaya, occurred during the “Deterrence of Aggression” operation launched by opposition factions on November 27 against the Syrian regime forces and their allies, which ended with the downfall of the regime.

The factions reached the capital, Damascus, after taking control of several cities and towns, after which Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow. The factions were able to free thousands of detainees, but without any lists or names or sufficient clarifications, leaving their families in a state of confusion and loss.

Families of detainees wait in the vicinity of Sednaya prison – December 9, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

Ongoing search with no evidence of secret cells

The Syria Civil Defence stated today that its teams, which reached Sednaya prison, did not find any secret doors being discussed and are still working with breach tools, search equipment, and K9 teams that include trained dogs.

The search is accompanied by individuals who know all the details of the prison, in addition to the teams relying on guidance from people contacted by families as knowing the entrances to the prison and the secret cells.

The Syria Civil Defence mentioned that its teams are working at full capacity, but so far there are no indications confirming the existence of detainees in the secret cells or tunnels of the prison, and they will continue to search until all its sections are confirmed and accurately examined.

Sednaya prison is well-known in the countryside of Damascus – December 9, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

ADMSP denies and clarifies

In several reports, the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) confirmed, through its team present inside the prison, that it is free of detainees in all its buildings (the white and red).

The association stated today that there is no truth to the claims of detainees trapped underground, and the information contained in some media reports is inaccurate.

They added that the last detainee was freed from Sednaya prison on December 8 at 11 a.m.

The association urges the families of detainees and those forcibly disappeared not to approach the prison and gather inside and around it, as this complicates the mission of the teams working to uncover the fate of all the missing inside.

They requested that families avoid walking on dirt paths near the prison or getting close to the internal and external walls, and refrain from sitting or walking in grassy areas, as they contain landmines.

The association urges all organizations to provide full support for the freed detainees and to offer appropriate medical, psychological, and social care, helping them to overcome the effects of this ordeal and reintegrate into society.

The association considers the liberation of Sednaya prison not just a military victory but a victory for all humanity, a symbol of the triumph of the will to live over death, freedom over tyranny, and the end of an era of oppression.

Sednaya prison is notorious in the countryside of Damascus – December 9, 2024 (Syria Civil Defence)

“Human slaughterhouse” and “black hole”

The prison is referred to as the “human slaughterhouse,” “death factory,” “grave,” and “black hole,” among other names that survivors use to convey the magnitude of the tragedy they experienced inside the prison.

On September 15, 2022, the French news agency “AFP,” in collaboration with the ADMSP, revealed details about how the management of Sednaya prison handled the bodies of the victims using salt-furnished rooms.

A satellite image of Sednaya prison in the countryside of Damascus (Google Maps)

The “salt rooms” are chambers for preserving corpses that began to be used since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, due to the rising number of victims inside the prison.

Corpses are preserved by placing about 20 to 30 centimeters of salt on the floor of the room to prevent decay and minimize odors that may emanate from them during their time inside the prison.

Amnesty International documented in a report titled “Mass hangings and extermination at Saydnaya Prison, Syria,” published in February 2017, mass executions carried out by the Syrian regime against 13,000 detainees in Sednaya prison, the majority of whom were civilian opponents, between 2011 and 2015.

The organization clarified that the executions occurred weekly or perhaps twice a week, secretly, during which groups, sometimes consisting of 50 individuals, were taken outside their cells and hanged to death.