Former detainee Mohammed Shukri Shekhani delivered a lecture at the Abu Rummaneh Arab Cultural Center in Damascus, as part of the "Damascus Revolution Memory" series, where he recounted his harrowing experience in Saydnaya prison and security branches during the ousted regime. The testimony addressed violations and the 2008 defiance events, along with the suffering of detainees' families, aiming to document national memory and vindicate victims.
The detention journey between security branches and Saydnaya prison
Shekhani covered in the first part of the lecture the stages a detainee goes through from the moment of arrest in security branches until transfer to Saydnaya prison, relying on his personal experience during the six years he spent detained between 2005 and 2011. He spoke about the harsh conditions accompanying that period and the forms of humiliation, oppression, and physical and psychological torture witnessed by detainees.
Shekhani also described the nature of investigations detainees undergo, and the fabricated accusations upon which many detention files are built, clarifying that investigation was often used as a tool for coercion, psychological pressure, and extracting confessions. He pointed out that the prison experience is an integrated system of pressures and violations aimed at breaking human will and isolating individuals from their social and human environment.
Families' suffering and extortion in search of the missing
In the second part, Shekhani shed light on the suffering of detainees' families, considering that many lived in a state of pain and waiting no less severe than their children's suffering inside prisons. He explained that families spent long years searching for any information or news to reassure them about their children's fate, moving between various institutions and security branches without obtaining clear answers, which made them vulnerable to exploitation.
He also revealed financial extortion operations targeting detainees' families in exchange for promises of obtaining information about their relatives or improving their conditions inside detention centers, which multiplied the psychological and living burdens they endured during long years of absence and uncertainty.
The major defiance of 2008 and the battle of resilience
The third part addressed the defiance events witnessed in Saydnaya prison in 2008, which are among the most prominent milestones in the prison's history, where he outlined their different stages and how the ousted regime dealt with prisoners during that period. He explained that they were subjected to severe punitive measures including deprivation of food, water, and electricity for long periods, using these means as tools for pressure and psychological torture, noting that these events lasted about six months and left deep effects in the minds of detainees.
Despite the harsh conditions, Shekhani noted that detainees tried to maintain their dignity and human voice inside cells, clinging to values of freedom, self-defense, and the human right to a decent life.
Lecture objectives and care for former detainees
In a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Shekhani reiterated that the goal of the lecture is to document these events to ensure that the rights of former detainees are not lost, and to provide necessary care for them and their families, including caring for their children, meeting their basic needs, and providing employment opportunities and support to facilitate their reintegration into society.
He emphasized that preserving memory and documenting testimonies constitute a fundamental step in vindicating victims and safeguarding the truth, and that these experiences should not be buried or forgotten, but must remain present in the public consciousness of future generations. This lecture comes as part of the "Damascus Revolution Memory" seminar series hosted by the Abu Rummaneh Arab Cultural Center, aiming to document national memory and preserve living testimonies related to the Syrian experience during years of detention and violations.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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