His jailer fled to Israel, Al-Sabsi recounts horrific torture in National Defense prisons

"If I had lived one more day, I would have been dead," Ali Issa al-Sabsi, known as number 499, describes his harrowing experience in the National Defense Forces' detention centers in Syria.

Al-Sabsi was working as a fuel tanker driver in Quneitra governorate when he was arrested with nine other people, including his brother Yasser (who later released with him), in 2013 at the Quneitra State Gas Station. They were charged with "feeding terrorists with fuel."

A picture of al-Sabsi and his brother appeared in National Defense Forces photos published by Zaman al-Wasl.

Al-Sabsi spent 24 days under brutal torture, where he was severely beaten and burned with boiling oil and plastic. He describes those days, saying, "They poured oil on us as if they were pouring water. I saw a person in front of me whose back they had poured, until the layers of flesh were visible right down to the bone." He added that another person, Abdul Rahman al-Bayda, died with them in detention.

Al-Sabsi added that he ate nothing during his detention, and even vomited the water he drank. When he was released, doctors were unable to find a vein to inject him with an IV.

Al-Sabsi still bears the scars of torture. He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and poor eyesight, in addition to the discoloration that still appears on his body from the oil and plastic burns.

Al-Sabsi revealed that they were on their way to field execution after 24 days of torture had they not paid 200 million Syrian pounds (at a time when the dollar was worth 450 Syrian pounds). This sum was supposed to secure the release of nine people. His jailer, Kamil Hassoun, received it, and Hassoun fled to the occupying state of Israel a week after the fall of Assad. Hassoun confirmed that he had been monitoring his movements and knew of his escape, as he had a brother conscripted into the occupation army, and the former regime was aware of this.

Zaman al-Wasl was unable to confirm the information regarding Kamil's escape to Israel.

Al-Sabsi's story is yet another testament to the atrocities committed in the prisons of the former Syrian regime. It adds to a series of documented testimonies published by Zaman al-Wasl as part of its "Death Cabinets" file.

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