A new BBC documentary has looked inside a prison labelled the ‘Human Slaughterhouse’ and revealed a horrifying insight into the reality of the lives of inmates there.
The documentary looked at the underground prisons discovered in Syria following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government after 13 years of civil war.
Assad’s government engaged in horrific practices, with Amnesty International describing the regime as being ‘characterized by repression and grave human rights violations’.
This included its prisons, with one in particular falling under the spotlight for its brutality.
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This prison, ‘The Human Slaughterhouse’, was also known as the Saydnaya prison, a military prison and death camp in northern Syria.
Saydnaya is the focus of the BBC documentary called Surviving Syria’s Prisons.
A new focus was brought on the prison when it was liberated as part of the fall of Assad’s regime, freeing prisoners who had been at Saydnaya in some cases for years.
The BBC documentary reveals the horrifying reality of living in the prison where tens of thousands died.
It follows Hadi Haroun and his brother Shadi, both of whom were imprisoned for arranging protests against the regime, spending a decade at the prison.
Their harrowing time involved regular beatings presented as ‘interrogations’ following 72 hours of being starved.
100,000 people ‘disappeared’
It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people were ‘disappeared’ at the prison by Assad’s regime.
The Guardian gave the harrowing documentary a perfect five-star review, calling it consistently shocking and unforgettably moving.
Jack Seale said in his review: “This chilling film takes two activist brothers back to the hellish jails where they were held for almost a decade.
“Then it goes further – and tracks down the soldiers who tortured for the Assad regime.”
The film features interviews with some of the soldiers who worked in the prison.
'Execution parties'
They justify their actions, claiming they were brainwashed during school and in their service, describing beatings received in initiation to show what happens if you disobey orders.
One prison officer reveals he has not looked himself in the mirror for three years, describing how guards would hold ‘execution parties’ every Wednesday morning.
The Financial Times also gave the film a four-star review, saying: “The war may have ended, but the fight for justice, this powerful film reminds us, is only just beginning.”
The Mail Online gave the film a perfect five stars, with Christopher Stevens saying: “What a strange power the television camera exercises over people.
“Point a lens at them and they will confess to crimes that, in court or under police questioning, they’d deny to their dying breath.
“How anyone could live through years of that treatment defies comprehension. This was 75 minutes of necessary but relentlessly depressing television.
“The only relief came from the brothers’ devotion to each other.”
Surviving Syria’s Prisons is available to watch on BBC iPlayer now.
Topics: BBC, Prison, TV and Film, TV, Documentaries
Michael Slavin