LONDON: Syrian authorities on Tuesday arrested a former high-ranking official who helped run the notorious Saydnaya Prison.
Thaer Hussein, described as an assistant to the director of the prison, had been on the run since the collapse of President Bashar Assad’s regime in December.
Syria’s Internal Security Command in Tartus said Hussein, who held the rank of colonel within the former regime, was captured while hiding in a remote part of the coastal town. He has been referred to judicial authorities, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Several officials who held senior positions at Saydnaya have been arrested since December. The military prison, located north of Damascus, was operated by the Ministry of Defense. After the fall of the Assad regime, rebel forces and local residents freed at least 2,000 prisoners held there.
Rights groups described it as a “human slaughterhouse” after former inmates told of the torture and extrajudicial killings that took place within its walls.
