Amidst a burgeoning notoriety for the trail of blood it has left and the human rights atrocities it has committed across large parts of Syria and Iraq, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is now gaining infamy on a different front; the destructive campaign it has launched against historic monuments that litter the region.

In the group’s bid to expand a self-established ‘Islamic caliphate’, several ancient and significant sites have fallen under its control, and have subsequently been razed to the ground. These include a Syrian-based memorial church on the Armenian Genocide, as well as scores of mosques and churches that date back as early as 600AD. Few incidents have provoked more outrage however than its destruction of countless artefacts at the famous Mosul Museum, under the guise that they promoted idolatry.

In the last month the fears of historians and heritage groups alike have been further stoked after ISIL took control of the ancient Semitic city of Palmyra (now modern day Tadmur/Tadmor), a UNESCO World Heritage site that houses ruins of an ancient metropolis. Some of Palmyra’s remnants date back two millennia, and few would underscore the risk the city’s rich history now faces under ISIL rule.

But the global concern over Palmyra has overshadowed a more disturbing side to its history. Situated a few kilometres short of the ancient ruins and within the same city walls is Tadmur Prison, a facility renowned for housing political prisoners and everyday Syrians alike. It would be unwise to talk about Tadmur in present tense, considering ISIL radicals demolished the prison in May; potentially the only beneficial act it has committed amongst a sea of atrocities.

The facility was comparable to some of the world’s worst prisons. Some would suggest that the brutalities seen at Guantanamo Bay’s ‘Camp X-Ray’, the Gitarama Prison in Rwanda, and Israel’s mysterious and secretive ‘Facility 1391’ pale in comparison to the oppression suffered by inmates of Tadmur. This infamy earned it the labelling of the world’s most oppression prison by Human Rights group, Amnesty International.

Founded as military barracks by French Mandate Forces stationed in Syria post-World War 1, Tadmur was eventually handed over to the Syrian regime upon their exit from the region. Under the government of President Hafez al-Assad (father to Bashar al-Assad) the facility became infamous for shocking levels of abuse subjected to thousands of inmates. Harsh living conditions, spontaneous and medieval forms of torture, and beatings to the point of death were often the nature of the day.

Torture and constant fear

Because of the Syrian regimes refusal to grant access or divulge information on the prison, the only real intelligence is based on accounts from those who spent time within its walls. Ex-prisoners have recounted that inmates were often picked at random for abuse, with the aim of keeping them in a constant state of fear. Those selected were whipped for hours on end, to the point where many could no longer walk. In more severe cases prisoners were hanged, dragged, and even hacked to death in front of other detainees.

Prison guards ran an operation of fear. Upon arrival new prisoners were put through something of an initiation; a beating in the middle of a courtyard with metal pipes and pieces of wood. This lasted up to several hours or until the individual succumbed to their injuries. In addition prisoners were often blackmailed to snitch on one another; those who refused were subjected to even crueller forms of torture, and those who divulged information were at risk amongst fellow inmates. This was presumably to quell any sense of unity amongst them.

Further proof of this was the oppressive policy of forcing detainees to sleep on one side of the body. A single captive would be put in charge of a cell to observe. The next morning guards would force that individual to provide at least 10 names of those who had not slept as per the rule, each of whom would be beaten. If the prisoner in charge refused or was unable to provide names, they would instead face the brunt of the guard’s brutality.

Tadmur amidst political tension

Tadmur Prison prior to its demolition compromised two sections, the first of which was built be French forces in the 1930s. Once the Syrian government took control, a newer building was established in the 1970s.

Under the Assad regime the facility became a symbol of state repression. During the height of political tensions in the 1980s, it was used to house political prisoners from the resisting Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. Between 1976 and 1982 the Brotherhood served as the main source of opposition to the country’s Baathist leadership, running something of an insurgency against the Assad government. Their rebellion was feared to such an extent that the organisation was outlawed in 1980, making support for the group a capital offence.

Those suspected of being members or in some other way connected to the Brotherhood were trialled in military field courts and were often issued life sentences regardless of whether they were found guilty or not. Suspects had no option to contest their detention, and were subsequently shipped off to Tadmur.

1980 massacre

In the same year that the Brotherhood was banned came unquestionably the prisons most tragic incident. With tensions at an all-time high between government and the Anti-Assad resistance movement, Tadmur prison became the scene of a bloody massacre.

On 26th June 1980 President Assad was the victim of a failed assassination attempt, which according reports may have been orchestrated by the Brotherhood. The attack, which occurred prior to a meeting with a visiting African dignitary, provoked strong retaliation from the country’s military forces. This came in the form of a 60 man operation the very next day, in which 500 Tadmur inmates were slaughtered. This assault was ordered by the president’s brother and commander of Syria’s Defence Companies, Rifaat Ali al-Assad. Soldiers were allegedly separated into several groups, and ordered to shoot every prisoner regardless of whether they held an affiliation to the Brotherhood or not.

Whilst official estimates put the death toll of the massacre at 500, based on the prison’s capacity and rampant overcrowding at the time, it is suggested that actual number could be anywhere up to 2,400.

Tadmur today

The official death toll of those who perished within the complex remains sketchy, due to the secrecy with which the Assad-regime has run the facility. It is believed that thousands of bodies were dumped in mass graves at a nearby valley called Wadi al-Kils, many of which still remain uncovered.

Amidst denunciation and criticism from the international community, the prison was shut and prisoners relocated in 2001. 10 years down the line however, as an uprising against Basher al-Assad began to take full swing in 2011, it was re-opened to house those involved in the anti-government protests.

The significance of the ISIL takeover

As mentioned, the complex was destroyed by ISIL fighters on the 30th May this year, with the group releasing video footage of the razed building. While many prisoners were evacuated and moved prior to ISIL’s taking of Palmyra it is believed that some, although the number remains unclear, were left behind.

Whilst it would have been well within the groups nature to execute them on site, the fact that prisoners were released proves far more concerning. It has raised concerns that those individuals will be used to bolster ISIL’s ranks. In addition, it is feared that the prisoners release may be used as a propaganda campaign to win more support, under the guise that it is leading the resistance against the Syrian regime.

With Tadmur Prison the first to go, the world now waits with baited breath to uncover the fate of the rest of Palmyra’s rich, but often sinister history. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)