A detainee’s death revives Syria’s memories of torture and abuse in prisons

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The death of a young man with a serious medical condition who was arrested and allegedly beaten by Syrian security forces has stirred up dark memories of torture and other abuse in detention centers under the Assad dynasty’s decades-long rule. Syrians have taken to social media and the streets in recent days to demand answers about the death of Mohammad Ghamira, who was buried Monday in his hometown of al-Haffah in coastal Latakia province. When insurgents unseated former President Bashar Assad in December 2024 after a nearly 14-year civil war, they opened the country’s notorious prisons.

During Assad’s rule, rights groups say, thousands of prisoners were killed in mass executions or died from injuries and disease. Detainees were subjected to torture, beatings and rape. Officials with the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa have promised accountability in Ghamira’s case, but rights groups say it is not an isolated incident and that abuses persist in detention centers.

The detainee had hemophilia, which affects blood clotting Ghamira, a 29-year-old father of two, was a former volunteer with the White Helmets civil defense organization, which operated in opposition-held areas before Assad’s fall. He died in a hospital in Latakia on Sunday after being released from jail. He had been detained days earlier following an “allegation of theft involving a sum of money,” Latakia’s internal security command said in a statement, without giving more details.

Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh, who was previously head of the White Helmets, said on X that Ghamira had died of “complications from cerebral and gastrointestinal hemorrhaging” that “resulted from a beating he sustained after being detained at the al-Haffah police station.” Al-Saleh and Ghamira’s relatives said he had hemophilia, a condition affecting the blood’s ability to clot. Ghamira’s uncle, Issam Ghamira, said in a video interview with state news agency SANA that the family had told the police chief in al-Haffah that his nephew had hemophilia and warned against hitting him. Despite that, he said, his nephew was hit while in custody.

Syria’s interior ministry announced an investigation into Ghamira’s death and said seven interior ministry personnel were detained for questioning. Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba, spe… Detainees were subjected to torture, beatings and rape.Officials with the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa have promised accountability in Ghamira’s case, but rights groups say it is not an isolated incident and that abuses persist in detention centers.The detainee had hemophilia, which affects blood clottingGhamira, a 29-year-old father of two, was a former volunteer with the White Helmets civil defense organization, which operated in opposition-held areas before Assad's fall.He died in a hospital in Latakia on Sunday after being released from jail.

Despite that, he said, his nephew was hit while in custody.Syria’s interior ministry announced an investigation into Ghamira’s death and said seven interior ministry personnel were detained for questioning.Syria’s Interior Ministry spokesperson Noureddine al-Baba, speaking to jo…