As the Assad regime in Syria crumbled over the weekend, the conquering rebels threw open the gates to the prisons where the government had detained tens of thousands of its people, torturing and killing them on an industrial scale.

Throngs of Syrians rushed to the facilities to search for loved ones who had disappeared into the prison system during the 13-year civil war. No prison is more infamous than Sednaya, just north of the capital, Damascus.

VideoRebel forces released many detainees from the notorious Sednaya military prison in Damascus. The government complex has a long history of human rights abuses under the rule of fallen President Bashar al-Assad.CreditCredit...Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

Even before the civil war, Sednaya was known for widespread torture and abuse. But during the conflict, it became a site of depravity and violence, used to commit some of the worst atrocities of Bashar al-Assad’s rule when he was president.

Human rights groups say tens of thousands of people were detained in Sednaya. They were tortured, beaten and deprived of food, water, medicine and basic sanitation. Thousands were executed in mass hangings after sham trials. One group estimated that more than 30,000 detainees were killed there.

In most cases, the families of prisoners were given no information about their fate.

Here’s what to know about Sednaya prisonWho was sent to Sednaya prison?What was its history?What were the conditions?A grim protocolWhat is happening now at the prison?

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.jsbet

• to
• jsbet
• About
• What
• Know