Syrians tracing missing relatives using identity cards found at detention center in Damascus

• These documents may be my last hope of finding my brother,’ man looking for his brother tells Anadolu

DAMASCUS

After the collapse of the Baath regime, Syrian families are tracing the whereabouts of their relatives using identity cards and passports found at the detention center in Mezzeh Military Airport in the capital Damascus.

Following the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime on Dec. 8, thousands of Syrian families have been searching for relatives they have not heard from in years.

After the discovery of a secret detention center at Mezzeh Military Airport in Damascus, many families have started coming to the site.

Among those released following the regime's fall, some families have been unable to find their relatives.

They are now searching for clues in the hundreds of identity cards and passports believed to belong to individuals held at the center.

"We are looking for my brother Majid. We had learned that he was held in the red section of Sednaya Prison. He was imprisoned in 2016. I searched in all the security units and prisons in Damascus, but I couldn’t find him,” Ibrahim Abdulasqer told Anadolu.

Abdulasqer said that he came to the Mezzeh Military Airport detention center hoping to find a trace of his brother.

"I haven't found any proof of whether he's dead or alive. If he’s alive, is he mentally stable? I don’t know anything about him. I’m here at the Mezzeh Military Airport. When the regime forces fled, they threw everything outside—identity cards, passports, everything. These documents may be my last hope of finding my brother. So far, I haven't found anything. If anyone who knows him, please contact us,” he added.

‘Our revolutionary brothers saved us’

Yusuf Haldan, who was once detained and tortured at the center, also shared his experience with Anadolu.

"Our revolutionary brothers saved us. I was held here for about a month and a half. The regime forces threw out all our cards and belongings and fled. I came to find my identity. I had belongings here, but I don’t know where they are now."

Haldan described the various forms of torture prisoners were subjected to at the center.

"Many people here suffered injustice. The detainees were innocent. No one’s hands were stained with blood,” he added.