• World
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Central & South Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America & Caribbean
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • North America
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
    • US Election
    • US politics
    • Joe Biden
    • Brexit
    • European Union
    • India
    • Arab world
  • Economics
    • Finance
    • Eurozone
    • International Trade
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Startups
    • Technology
  • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Film
    • Books
    • Travel
  • Environment
    • Climate change
    • Smart cities
    • Green Economy
  • Global Change
    • Education
    • Refugee Crisis
    • International Aid
    • Human Rights
  • International Security
    • ISIS
    • War on Terror
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
  • Science
    • Health
  • 360 °
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice
  • About
  • FO Store
Sections
  • World
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Sign Up
  • Login
  • Publish

Make Sense of the world

Unique insight from 2,000+ contributors in 80+ Countries

Close

The Cost of Escaping a Syrian Prison

By Hakim Khatib • Jan 28, 2016
Syrian war

© Shutterstock

After nearly four years in prison without trial, a Syrian civilian must pay a high price for freedom.

In 2011, anti-government protests spread throughout Syria. The situation soon escalated and resulted in a full-blown war. Violent clashes between the opposition and the regime were underway around the country.

In the heat of events, Mohammad, now 37, was arrested at a checkpoint in northern Syria while he was going to work. He was accused of using weapons against the government. But Mohammad didn’t know how to use a weapon, his family says. Based on his disability, he had been exempt of all obligatory military training.

Yet Mohammad was tortured for two months and then sent to a central prison for three and a half years without trial.

Paying for Freedom

As the violence continues after nearly five years, tens of thousands of civilians have been shoved into the Assad regime’s prisons. The lucky ones were those who had the chance to bribe their oppressors in exchange for freedom.

“My brother Mohammad was taken by security forces in July 2011,” says Mohammad’s brother, who refuses to reveal his full name. “He was tortured, humiliated and separated from his new-born child and wife for almost four years,” he adds.

Mohammad, who was an accountant in pre-war Syria, is physically challenged. His left leg has been paralyzed since childhood. He was in prison between July 2011 and February 2015, when his family paid a lawyer to have him released, according to his brother. Exact dates, names and places cannot be revealed due to security reasons.

“In November 2014, our father found a ‘lawyer’ after a long search in the corrupt system in Syria for someone to get him out,” Mohammad’s brother explains.

He says the desperate search had been mixed with hopes that, maybe, the rebels would take hold of the central prison in Aleppo, where Mohammad had been kept, and release him along with other detainees.

“The lawyer we found might not be the one you have in mind,” the brother notes. “He is more like a mediator between individuals in the government, on one hand, and distressed people like my brother and my family, on the other.”

According to Mohammad’s family, the mediating lawyer asked for a huge sum of money to have him released, and after bargaining, the price was $12,000. The mediating lawyer told the family: “The money is not for me. I just earn my mediating fees. They take the money, the judge does.”

Syrian war

© Shutterstock

“We were not sure if my brother would be released after paying the price,” Mohammad’s brother recalls.

The lawyer told the family that if they paid the money, he could make a call to the right “judge” and their son would be immediately out.

In an attempt from Mohammad’s family to pay the money, they tried to contact aid organizations asking for help. “While most of them haven’t replied yet, two responded negatively on the ground that they don’t support special cases,” the brother says.

The Oppressors

“Well, we managed to pay the government, or individuals in the government, to have my brother released,” he adds. “It was bitter to do so. We were sure that the people we are paying are the same people who buy bullets and explosive barrels to kill people like us. It was paying our killers to carry on slaughtering us.”

“It is painful to know that you are paying all what you have to those who displaced you and your family, killed your relatives and siblings, destroyed your home and failed your country. It is more painful to know that they continue doing so. Thanks to the people like us who pay them to become stronger,” he says.

The family is now in a safer place and in debt—so too is the newly released son. Before he was released, Mohammad said: “I am not sure that I want to leave the prison because I don’t have a perspective about what to do next.”

“He had to survive to get out of the prison,” his brother mentions. “At the time the chance presented itself, he became reluctant. He is a man in debt, psychologically destroyed and traumatized.”

Mohammad is now relatively far from the regime-controlled areas. He finally met his family, wife and now 3-year-old daughter.

Tens of thousands of innocent civilians are still neglected in the regime’s secret torture chambers and prisons, from which several thousands died out of hunger, torture or disease.

*[A version of this article was also featured by MPC Journal.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Photo Credit: Volodymyr Borodin / Shutterstock.com


Fair Observer - World News, Politics, Economics, Business and CultureWe bring you perspectives from around the world. Help us to inform and educate. Your donation is tax-deductible. Join over 400 people to become a donor or you could choose to be a sponsor.

Share Story
CategoriesBlog, International Security, Middle East & North Africa TagsSyria, Syrian Civil War, Syrian prison
Join our network of more than 2,000 contributors to publish your perspective, share your story and shape the global conversation. Become a Fair Observer and help us make sense of the world.

Fair Observer Recommends

Trump Is Giving Syria the “Iran Treatment” Trump Is Giving Syria the “Iran Treatment”
By Gulf State Analytics • Jul 22, 2020
Libyan General Gets Closer to Assad Libyan General Gets Closer to Assad
By Gulf State Analytics • Jun 06, 2020
Turkey Pushes Syria and Egypt Closer Turkey Pushes Syria and Egypt Closer
By Gulf State Analytics • Dec 18, 2019

Post navigation

Previous PostPrevious Bombs Speak Louder Than Words
Next PostNext Brexit is More Complicated Than You Think
Subscribe
Register for $9.99 per month and become a member today.
Publish
Join our community of more than 2,500 contributors to publish your perspective, share your narrative and shape the global discourse.
Donate
We bring you perspectives from around the world. Help us to inform and educate. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Explore

  • About
  • Authors
  • FO Store
  • FAQs
  • Republish
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Regions

  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Central & South Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America & Caribbean
  • Middle East & North Africa
  • North America

Topics

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Global Change
  • International Security
  • Science

Sections

  • 360°
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice

Daily Dispatch


© Fair Observer All rights reserved
We Need Your Consent
We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Learn more about how we use cookies or edit your cookie preferences. Privacy Policy. My Options I Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Edit Cookie Preferences

The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.

As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media.

 
Necessary
Always Enabled

These cookies essential for the website to function.

Analytics

These cookies track our website’s performance and also help us to continuously improve the experience we provide to you.

Performance
Uncategorized

This cookie consists of the word “yes” to enable us to remember your acceptance of the site cookie notification, and prevents it from displaying to you in future.

Preferences
Save & Accept