Execution ropes and solitary confinement: Assad’s instruments of torture inside Saydnaya prison

Bashar al-Assad’s prisons in Syria were notorious for their harsh conditions.

Human rights organisations have long reported torture, excessive force, starvation, and disease within Saydnaya prison — something the regime always denied.

Now, after rebels toppled the Assad regime, cameras have been able to document the shocking environment in which prisoners were held.

Footage shows execution ropes and a green piece of machinery, the purpose for which has not been verified, inside Saydnaya after its gates were flung open by rebels.