Damascus: A Syrian man who was imprisoned for nearly six years at the notorious Sednaya prison shared with Anadolu his memories of torture and the night he was freed following the fall of the regime last year.

According to Anadolu Agency, Ammar Dughmush, from Damascus, was among thousands subjected to systematic torture at Sednaya, one of the harshest detention centers under the rule of the now-deposed Bashar al-Assad regime. Dughmush was detained in a 2018 ambush in Eastern Ghouta and initially held at the Mezzeh Military Airport's intelligence branch before being transferred to Sednaya, often described as a "human slaughterhouse."

Dughmush recalled being transported in a meat refrigeration truck with 145 other detainees and beaten upon entry into the prison. He stated, "From the moment I entered that place, my life turned into a complete disaster." Accused of "being armed," Dughmush was tortured at Mezzeh and forced to sign a confession. He described being hung from the ceiling with his hands tied behind his back, almost dislocating his shoulders, and having his joints beaten with sticks.

At Sednaya, Dughmush described extreme overcrowding in his cell, which measured around 8 by 16 feet and was meant for 60 but held 120 detainees. "We slept stacked on top of each other. In the mornings, some were found dead from suffocation," he recounted. He also described a punishment method involving the prison's only fan being turned off, causing the underground cell to run out of oxygen, leading to severe difficulty in breathing.

Diseases were rampant in the prison, worsening the conditions. Dughmush recalled that people would start hallucinating, lose bladder control, and die within three days due to the lack of medication. Upon arrival at Sednaya, detainees were subjected to a 'welcome phase' that included severe beatings, humiliation, and psychological abuse.

Dughmush recounted a torture method called the 'band,' where detainees were laid on the floor and guards beat their feet in a continuous loop. He also shared memories of a guard known as 'Abu Yaqub,' who targeted elderly prisoners, often resulting in fatalities.

The conditions at Sednaya deteriorated over time, with medical referrals stopping and in-prison doctors conducting only brief checks. On the night of December 8, 2024, Dughmush heard sirens followed by silence, and later, voices of women and children-something unheard of in the prison. Around 3 a.m., gunfire erupted, and someone shouted 'Allahu Akbar.'

It was a revolutionary fighter who came to free them. "Someone called the azan out loud. It was the first proper call to prayer we had heard in years. We prayed standing. It felt like breaking our chains," Dughmush said. Shortly after, rebels opened the prison doors. "When the cell door opened, we had no idea where to go. We only knew one thing: the shackles were broken."

As he stepped outside, Dughmush picked up a stick for self-defense. Upon learning that the regime had fallen, he joined the throng of people outside the prison. "The road to the prison was packed with people. Everyone was holding a photo of a loved one," he recalled. "Just seeing asphalt was enough to make me feel full. I didn't eat for two days. I couldn't believe it was real."

Dughmush later reunited with his daughter, describing the emotional moment when his knees gave out as she ran toward him. "We hugged for 15 minutes. After everything-the humiliation, the disease, the beatings-God let me hold her again. That was the moment of freedom."