“Human Slaughterhouse”: Chilling Account from a Saydnaya Prison Survivor in Syria

Riyad Avlar spent twenty years imprisoned in Syria, with half of that time in Saydnaya, deeply impacting him and fueling his commitment to expose the atrocities committed there. What secrets can he reveal about these Syrian prisons?

The Struggle of Riyad Avlar

Having endured twenty years in Syrian prisons, including a decade in the notorious Saydnaya prison, Riyad Avlar survived to share his tale. His mission is not revenge but a pursuit of justice.

As a co-founder of the Association of Detainees and Missing Persons of Saydnaya Prison (ADMSP), he is committed to documenting and addressing the atrocities perpetrated under Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Horrors of Saydnaya

Amnesty International has described Saydnaya as an “human slaughterhouse”. Prisoners were tortured, starved, and overcrowded since the 1980s. Thousands were eventually freed by Syrian rebels.

The images of emaciated, bewildered prisoners circulated globally, triggering traumatic memories for Avlar. Arrested in 1996 for speaking out against Syrian regime abuses, he spent two months chained in a dark cell. “I witnessed people dying before my eyes, many from starvation,” he recalls.

From Survival to Rebuilding

Despite the scars of his painful past, Riyad has managed to rebuild his life. Through engaging in theater and music and his work with ADMSP, he has helped many families get proof of life for relatives imprisoned at Saydnaya. He simply calls it “art therapy.”

A Place of Memory

The Saydnaya prison now stands empty, its silence a profound reminder. According to ADMSP, over 4,000 detainees have been released by rebels. However, the association also estimates that at least 30,000 were executed or died from torture, lack of medical care, or starvation between 2011 and 2018.

In the face of these horrors, Riyad Avlar hopes that Saydnaya will one day become a memorial site, a place to remember the victims and celebrate regained freedom.