Torture Memo: Abu Rami shared food with rats in 227 Branch

By Faris Rifai

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Former detainee in Syrian regime’s prisons spoke about his imprisonment, where he was subject to brutal torturing and witnessed killing many detainees under torture.

Ab Rami, Palestinian from Syria, from Southern of Damascus, used to work in a mobile shop in Jaramana, where he was arrested by the Military Security due to a report from an informer. Her was first taken to the branch then was transferred to the detention centre in al-Sayida Zainab neighbourhood, where he spent two days and witnessed first case of killing a detainee by hitting him with stones and metal pipes.

Abo Rami, was in his year-4 of Technology and Information study when he was arrested, he was subject to severe interrogation for accusations of managing many revolutionary coordination, which he denied all the time, then he was transferred to intelligence Branch 227 with 8 men and a woman, which is known of its brutality where many detainees died under torture.

Abo Rami detailed that they were taken to the branch handcuffed and eye-blinded and when the eye cover was removed, he found himself in a room with two desks, where they people there kept interrogating them and swearing to them all the time .

Abo Rami detailed that members of the branch told them plainly to forget life, then they were taken to another room and ordered them to take off their clothes and stay in the underwear, an shave their heads and poured cold water on their bodies despite the cold weather.

The speaker continued explaining that they were distributed over many cells, some singular and other to collectives, where he was taken. It was an underground room, no window for sun light to enter, and has many corridors and noisy air suction.

Abo Rami detailed that the room was locked with heavy lock, and when he entered it was too dark, then he started to recognise surroundings, where he saw the detainees who were too thin and head-shaved and sitting to close to each other due to lack of space that needed for 65 detainees.

After 4 days, he was called by name to go to interrogation, he was slapped and swore to when he got out and the guard ordered him to go to the interrogation room on his knees, and covered his face.

When he arrived to the interrogation office, the interrogator asked him about everything in his life, his friends, family members, his relation to particular people, he kept denying knowing them. After that, hethe interrogator hit him using his feet all over his body until I lost consciousness, then he was put under cold water, when he felt that his heart was going to stop from the cold.

The former detainee detailned that the interrogator oared his to sign 6 papers, but he discovered that they were blank from under the eye cover, and then he was returned to his collective room.

Abo Rami described the cell he stayed in as very dirty and disgusting and the majority of men inside were ill and had infected wounds and many died due to disease and illness and they were taken out without giving any information about the cause of death.

During his stay in the branch for 7 months, he was interrogated 8 times, and in one of them he was transferred to a singular cell for 22 days which was too small and hosted 13 prisoners, 4 can sit down and 9 stay standing up and change their turn regularly.

The former detainee explained that death was frequent and detainees used to wish death to end the miserable condition they live in.

After 7 months, he was transferred to branch 284, where he stayed for 37 days then to the battalion of attacking for 62 days then he was transferred to military court and military prison in Qaboun and stayed for 35 days, to end up in Adra prison and stayed for 3 months, after that he went to terrorism court and the judge cleared and freed him for not having enough information and evidences in November 2014.

The former detainees was informed to visit the local intelligence branch, but he run away to Turkey, but he was arrested by the Islamic State in Idlib and went through repentance, and left through smuggling channels to Turkey.