Toronto Star

Ex-inmates lament destructio­n of notorious Syrian prison

- BASSEM MROUE AND ZEINA KARAM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIRUT— For decades, just mentioning the name Tadmur Prison was enough to send chills down the spine of Syrians.

The notorious facility in the desert of central Syria was where thousands of dissidents were reported to have been beaten, humiliated and systematic­ally tortured for opposing the Assad family’s rule.

Last weekend, it was demolished by the Islamic State group, which took over the site near the ancient town of Palmyra last month, bringing mixed emotions from many Syrians who wanted it to remain standing so future generation­s would know its horrors.

“They destroyed our memories, our catastroph­e and the walls that we leaned on and told our stories to,” said Ali Aboudehn, a Lebanese who spent four harrowing years in Tadmur. “They destroyed the land that absorbed our blood because of torture.”

Located about 250 kilometres northeast of Damascus, Tadmur Prison is part of a walled-off military complex that includes military and civilian units as well as an airbase. Former prisoners say it could hold up to 7,000 inmates, although the number fell in recent years. By the time militants swept into Palmyra last month, the inmates had been moved elsewhere and the prison was empty.

When in use, prisoners were completely cut off from the outside world, Aboudehn said, recalling that the first time he knew the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed was in 1993, well after those events happened.

Blowing up the facility may have been part of attempts by the extremists to gain popularity among those who suffered at the hands of the Syrian government. But residents and former prisoners called it a huge mistake.

Yassin Al Haj Saleh, who spent 16 years in Syrian prisons and wrote a book about his experience­s, said he was saddened by the news, “as if they have destroyed my home.”

“I dreamt that I would visit it someday. . . . I had imagined that visiting the prisons where I spent time would serve as closure,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

 ?? MILITANT WEBSITE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? The ruins of Tadmur prison, where thousands of Syrian dissidents were tortured.
MILITANT WEBSITE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The ruins of Tadmur prison, where thousands of Syrian dissidents were tortured.

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