In a bid to call attention to detainees in the Assad’s regime custody, activists in 10 neighborhoods of Damascus distributed pamphlets with a photo of a banknote on one side while the other side had phrases reminding people of detainees held by the Assad regime. “Don’t forget me,” and “Did you know that an average of 10 detainees die every day in Assad’s jails without anybody knowing of them?,” are some of the phrases written on the pamphlets. It estimated that 215,000 people are arbitrarily detained by the Assad regime, with the fate of hundreds of them is still unknown. Since the beginning of 2012, government forces began using schools, stadiums, buildings and villas as detention camps which is similar to Nazi and Stalinist camps. The secret detention centers are controlled by local militias (The National Defense Army and the Popular Committees) which are affiliated to the Assad regime that worked on facilitating these militias’ work in exchange of insuring the cooperation of these militias in raids, clashes, and terrorizing the residents of the nearby areas. This is the case in Der Shmiel detention center where the majority of the forces that control the camp are residents from the surrounding towns and villages. The center is administered by about 1,500 Shabihas (paramilitary forces) who include women according to local activists and residents in these areas. Investigations and former prisoners’ testimonies suggest that the main purpose of this kind of detention center is brutal torture. The brutality of torture in these secret detention centers surpasses other security branches’ by far. The torture in Der Shmiel has a religious background. Additionally, it is extremely rare for anyone to get out alive from the camp. The second goal is to exhort large ransom payments from electives of the detainees. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Aleppo Today)
