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As ISIS takes the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, naturally there are
fears for the archaeological heritage, given ISIS' barbaric penchant for
destroying cultural heritage. Of course it was much better when it was
ruled by the other major terrorist gang in Syria, the one currently
occupying Damascus: it focused more on destroying people, in the most
terrifying ways possible, rather than ruins.
MK
The darker side of Syria's Palmyra
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2015/5/21/the-darker-side-of-syrias-palmyra
By: AAAJ and agencies Date of publication: 21 May, 2015
Islamic State extremists are reported to be in full control of Palmyra
famed for its archaeological treasures, but the Syrian desert city has
another, more sinister side.
On June 26 1980, a grenade landed near then President Hafez al-Assad's
feet. He reacted swiftly and kicked it away. Another grenade killed his
bodyguard as he threw himself to save the president.
At that time, Hafez al-Assad was facing a full-scale revolt led by
Syria's Muslim Brotherhood. The assassination attempt was allegedly
carried out by a faction of the Brotherhood.
The following morning, on June 27, Hafez's brother, Rifaat al-Assad,
commander of the Paramilitary Defence Brigades, sent some 60 soldiers to
Tadmur Prison which housed at that time hundreds of members and
supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood. The soldiers were divided into
squads, tasked to shoot every inmate in sight.
Hundreds of prisoners were massacred, with no records of those who were
killed or imprisoned.
History of Tadmur Prison
Tadmur Prison consists of two parts. The first part was initially built
by the French mandate after World War I to be used as military baracks.
But when it was handed over to the Syrian authority, it was turned into
a prison.
According to the testimony of former prisoners, the French part, the old
building, held civilian political prisoners while the new facility held
criminal suspects. The old building contains 42 dormitories and seven
small cells, each situated next to a courtyard.
The prison is in a desert city. The city of Tadmur is is located nearly
215 km northeast of Damascus. At that time, the long distance made it
almost impossible for familiies to visit relatives in prison.
The prison is known as one of the most repressive prisons in the world.
Its reputation of horror comes from the use of medieval methods.
Prisoners were dragged to death, killed with axes, and cut into pieces.
The Baathist regime also improvised ways of torture, whispered about and
rumoured in Syria.
The inmates who were known or suspected to be a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood were singled out of the crowd. When those inmates were
dragged out of their dormitories, they would never know if they would
make it back alive.
Testimonies from Tadmur
Some prisoners' reports were smuggled out of Syria in 1990 to Amnesty
International. In one of the reports, a prisoner pondered, "when death
is a daily occurrence, lurking in torture, random beatings, eye-gouging,
broken limbs, and crushed fingers... [when] death stares you in the face
and is only avoided by sheer chance... wouldn't you welcome the merciful
release of a bullet?"
As for new inmates, they would be brought to one of the courtyards where
they would be brutally beaten with pieces of wood or large metal pipes.
The "reception" of prisoners in Tadmur prison has been documented by a
former inmate in the 1980s:
"The bus [of new inmates] arrived at Tadmur Prison where the military
awaited us. The warders pulled us off the bus, whipping us mercilessly
and brutally until we were all out. They removed handcuffs and
blindfolds, and then we were taken into a courtyard overlooked by prison
officers, where our names were registered. All the while were being
whipped from all sides. Then we were dragged to the so-called 'torture
courtyard'. One by one, we were put into the 'tyre', and each person was
beaten between 200 and 400 times on his feet. After beating us, they
lined us up in single file. Holding on to eachothers' clothes,
blindfolded and with our heads lowered, we walked into the prison. We
continued to be whipped from every direction until the cell door was
closed. Everyone was in a bad condition, their legs bleeding and covered
with wounds, as well as other parts of their bodies. Some of the
prisoners died during the 'reception'..."
Describing the horror, a former prisoner in Tadmur from 1996 to 1999
recalled in a smuggled report how he used to hear the movement of the
"torture team":
"The sound of iron bars and tyres being dropped on the ground, whips and
cables being tried on the walls, and the shouts of the guards
instructing inmates. Soon after we begin to hear the screams of our
colleagues, mixed up with sounds of the lashes".
Death and disappearance in Tadmur
Numerous inmates died in Tadmur as a result of intolerable torture, hard
conditions or serious illness. An Amnesty International report on
prisoners in 1998 narrates the story of Zahi Abbadi, a Syrian doctor
from Aleppo who reportedly died in Tadmur Prison in 1990.
Abbadi was arrested along with over a hundred medical staff
professionals in 1980 following a one-day strike by the medical
association. The Syrian doctor used to examine, and whenever possible,
treat fellow inmates in prison.
Not only Syrians suffered in Tadmur. Lebanese, as well as Palestinian,
Jordanian, and Iraqi political prisoners had a share of Baathist
brutality in prison. Hundreds of Lebanese are thought to have
disappeared in Syrian cells.
Tadmur Prison closed and reopened
All testimonies agree that the 1980s witnessed the most brutal and
horrific scenes of torture and the deaths of perhaps hundreds of
prisoners. However, reports suggest that the 1990s saw a gradual but
significant reduction in torture. In the second half of 1991, torture
temporarily stopped when several thousand political prisoners were
released as a result of a presidential amnesty issued by the late
President Hafez al-Assad.
The treatment of prisoners in Tadmur Prison seemed to change depending
on shifts of emphasis in political situations and the state's policies
towards various categories of its political opponents.
The prison was closed in 2001, at the beginning of Hafez's son, Bashar
al-Assad's presidency. Bashar's move was seen as an attempt to end one
of his father bloodiest chapters.
On the eve of the 31st anniversary of the Tadmur massacre in 2011, the
prison gates were reopened to welcome hundreds of people who had
participated in the Syrian uprising.
With IS approaching the prison, local Syrian activists reported on
Twitter that the regime had evacuated a large number of detainees from
the facility and moved them to the Military Security Headquarter
- See more at:
http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/features/2015/5/21/the-darker-side-of-syrias-palmyra#sthash.bAA7sdxa.Q8F3KwKn.dpuf
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