ISIS members say they know nothing about the world in Syrian prisons for years

Kazakhstan (Hassakeh) in Syria – People of all ages and nationalities sat silently in their cells, a small window in the metal door, the only one they opened to the world. All were alleged members of the Islamic State group, captured in the last few days of extremist so-called caliphs, and were declared in most parts of Iraq and Syria.

Now known as Panorama, Gweiran prison has about 4,500 detainees held by detainees for many years. The Associated Press made an exclusive visit to the prison nearly two months after the fall of the Assad dynasty in Syria in 54 years – detainees may not even know as prison officials try to limit external information.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's removal in a lightning insurgency attack in December has attracted new attention, and such detention centres with about 9,000 people are being held in the northeast of the country The new pressure is unjusted members.

The centers are guarded by the Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the United States and led by Kurdish, which in March 2019 occupied the last piece of land of the former member, the eastern town of Baghouz.

SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi told the Assad that after the collapse of Assad, members captured a large number of weapons from eastern Syria from abandoned positions by troops loyal to the former president.

An SDF security official warned that extremists could attack detention facilities and try to free their comrades. He is consistent with the regulations under anonymity.

General Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said during a visit to Syria last month that the detainees were “literal and symbolic “ISIS Army” in detention.

The prison visit took place in a corridor with six cells on each side and a masked guard holding a club. The windows in the cell door were opened and the detainees were told they could speak briefly with the reporter.

A young man moves forward and determines himself as Maher, a nurse in Melbourne, Australia. Prison authorities require only the name to be used.

“I would love to go back to Australia,” the man said, adding that he was not arrested in Baghz in 2019, but gave up on himself when the U.S.-led coalition opened a humanitarian corridor.

“I didn’t do anything to anyone. I’ve been here for seven years without judgment. “Nothing is happening.” “He expressed regret for “many things”.

Mah said he married a Syrian woman with two sons, one of their camps in a member of northeastern Syria. He said he had no information about them and he sent a letter to his parents through the ICRC and never received an answer.

The safety of detention centres has been an increasingly serious problem since Assad’s fall.

One of the worst threats to the center was in January 2022, when the gunmen rushed into prison and fought with the SDF for 10 days, killing nearly 500 people.

The prison was previously a classroom in a technical school, but was later renovated with the help of a coalition led by the United States. Security was tight when the Associated Press visited, armed fighters were stationed on the road to the facility.

But SDF officials said the clash between their fighter jets and Turkish-backed gunmen in northern Syria, which coincides with the rebellious offensive that caused Assad to fall and is affecting their ability to protect prisons.

His Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan told reporters Ankara is ready to help Syrian authorities manage the government last month when Syria's Foreign Minister Asad al-Shibani visited Turkey Detention centers and more than four thousand people, many of them, many of them, many of them, women and children are allegedly linked.

But the SDF chief commander did not welcome the idea.

“The way Turkey can help is to stop attacking us so that we can focus on the protection of al-hol and prisons,” Abdi said.

He added that the fate of al-hol and other prisons could be resolved within Syria. The future of the country is being discussed in talks between the SDF, which controls nearly 25% of Syria, and a new government in Damascus led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

In the cell, a man waits for a word on his own destiny.

A British prisoner from London asked his name not to be published, saying he wanted to return to the UK and be tried there. A decade ago, he was 18 years old in a media report in Syria about the “child killing” when Assad government forces were only 18 years old after a mass uprising turned into a civil war.

He said he wanted to leave Syria later, but could not.

“Once you typed) it's hard to get out,” he said.

He claimed he was not a soldier but bought and sold cars while living in the IS-MELD area. He said all men captured by the SDF in the Bahuz area in early 2019 were classified as members.

Seven years have passed.

“It is a miracle to survive for a day in this place,” he said, adding that he and the detainees now know nothing about the world and don't even date.

When asked which day it was, he replied: “We are in early 2025.”