Aleppo Central Prison

Aleppo Central Prison is a large civilian prison located north of Aleppo. Though the prison has faced accusations of abuse and violations for a long time, conditions have worsened since 2011. Reports estimate the prison population at 5000 as of 2012, many of whom were imprisoned for political reasons (VDC). Cells are made to hold 25 prisoners, but each of them held at least 50. In July 2012, prison guards prevented prisoners from doing the Taraweeh prayer during Ramadan, which ignited general protests against poor conditions in the prison. Guards fired on protestors with live ammunition, leading to at least 30 deaths, and many others were arrested and relocated to unknown locations.  Prisoners sentenced to an additional  6 months in prison for their involvement in the protests (VDC). A United Nations Human Rights Council report states that in August 2012 14 prisoners were executed for participating in a fight. (UNHRC).

Rebel groups began a siege of the prison in March 2013 lasting until May 2014, during which prisoners faced increasingly drastic conditions. By July 2013, guards were feeding prisoners a half cup of flour per day and prisoners were tortured for saying “I’m hungry.” These restrictions led to a second set of protests in which 6 prisoners were killed and 40 injured (VDC). When the siege was broken by government forces, the prison population dropped to between 3000 and 3500 detainees. A number of prisoners escaped during the siege, and at least 635 prisoners died because of disease, starvation, abuse by guards or clashes between rebels and the regime (VDC). The current number of detainees and overall status of the prison are unclear. Parts of the prison were destroyed in the siege, but the government is rebuilding the facility (SANA).