Laith al-Jnaidi
23 May 2026•Update: 23 May 2026
By Laith al-Jnaidi
DAMASCUS (AA) - Syria's Interior Ministry announced on Friday that authorities captured former military police sergeant Mohammad Imad Mahrez, who worked as a guard and jailer at the Sednaya prison, which was notorious for torture, ill-treatment and executions during the Assad era.
The ministry said internal security forces managed to "arrest former military police sergeant Mahrez."
It explained that Mahrez "worked as a prison guard at Sednaya Military Prison since 2015 under the ousted regime."
Authorities are investigating him to determine the practices attributed to him and to take legal action.
Saydnaya Prison is located north of the capital, Damascus, and is considered one of the notorious military prisons in Syria.
After the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, the prison was transformed into a center where thousands were detained for their opposition to the regime.
The prison has been repeatedly mentioned in reports by international human rights organizations due to torture and ill-treatment.
A 2017 Amnesty International report stated that 13,000 people were secretly executed in the prison between 2011 and 2015.
In December 2024, Bashar Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia, bringing an end to the Baath Party’s decades of rule that began in 1963. A transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in January 2025.
*Writing by Rasa Evrensel in Istanbul
