Firsthand accounts from recently released Syrian detainees have exposed degrading conditions and systematic mistreatment inside Israeli detention facilities. Former prisoners describe practices involving torture, humiliation, and punitive deprivation—ranging from physical beatings and forced strip‑searches to the trampling of food and severe restrictions on hygiene and sleep. Their testimonies depict an environment where basic elements of daily life are weaponized as tools of control.
These accounts, shared with Al‑Quds Al‑Arabi, come as Israeli military incursions continue in southern Syria, accompanied by ongoing detentions that have intensified international concern over the conditions and fate of those still held.
Strictly Regulated Meals and Deliberate Humiliation
Hajji (a pseudonym), a young Syrian recently released from Israeli custody, described a daily routine shaped by systemic abuse.
He said food distribution was tightly monitored, with security cameras recording the timing and quantity of meals. Although soldiers adhered to scheduled delivery times, the process was deliberately humiliating. Guards frequently trampled on the food before sliding trays into the cells or kicked them under the doors, continuing to boot them until they reached the interior of the room.
Hygiene Restrictions and Commando Interventions
Personal hygiene was heavily restricted. According to Hajji, showers were occasionally permitted twice a week, but detainees were given extremely limited time. The cell leader—known among prisoners as the Shawish—reported the number of occupants, after which guards allotted a narrow window for all individuals to finish.
In a cell holding ten people, guards allowed only twenty minutes for the entire group, leaving roughly two minutes per person. Within this brief period, detainees had to enter the stall, undress, turn on the water, wash, dry off, and exit. Most were unable to clean themselves properly, and exceeding the time limit resulted in harsh punishment. If the cell leader reported a delay, the detainee was handed over to a specialized commando unit regularly deployed to suppress and punish prisoners.
Sleep Deprivation and Mandatory Sitting
Punitive measures extended to sleep schedules. The daily routine began at 4:00 AM and lasted until 10:30 or 11:00 PM. Throughout these eighteen hours, detainees were strictly prohibited from sleeping or lying down.
During the day, mattresses and blankets were stacked beside the iron bed frames, and no one was permitted to use them. Prisoners were forced to sit upright on the bare metal frames for the entire day. Only when lights‑out was ordered at night were they allowed to retrieve their bedding.
Any detainee caught napping during the day, using the bathroom outside permitted hours, or possessing extra clothing—such as a jacket or additional underwear—was subjected to severe physical punishment by the commando unit.
Strict Regulations and Arbitrary Violations
The disciplinary system governed even the smallest details of daily life, with minor infractions routinely triggering violence.
Halim (a pseudonym), a man in his sixties released several months ago while suffering from deteriorating health, shared his experience with Al‑Quds Al‑Arabi.
He said detainees could face punishment simply for remaining awake at night due to anxiety or insomnia. If surveillance cameras caught a prisoner with open eyes during designated sleep hours, guards recorded the individual’s identification number. The commando unit would then arrive—either the same day or the following morning—to intimidate, humiliate, and assault the detainee.
Meal consumption was similarly enforced. Despite constant hunger, sick or exhausted prisoners who could not finish their food immediately were forbidden from saving it. Meals had to be consumed within ten minutes of delivery. Once the time elapsed, detainees were forced to discard all remaining food into the trash and remove it from the cell.
Accidentally making eye contact with an officer was treated as a serious violation, resulting in the recording of the detainee’s number and swift punishment.
Systemic Inspections and Collective Abuse
Halim explained that while special units were present daily, room inspections were conducted on a rotating basis. In a section containing ten cells, guards searched two rooms per day, cycling through the entire unit over roughly six days before repeating the process.
Inspection procedures were designed to break the detainees’ morale. Before opening targeted cells, guards ordered all prisoners in the section to kneel, place their heads on the floor, and lock their hands behind their heads. Soldiers verified complete compliance before opening the doors.
Detainees were then forced out of their cells while maintaining this posture in the corridors. Soldiers thoroughly searched the rooms before summoning prisoners back one by one for body searches. During these searches, two guards pulled the detainee’s arms behind their back until their hands reached head level, while a third guard struck them from behind. Abuse included punches and blows with batons and search equipment.
Each search lasted two to three minutes, after which the detainee was forced back into the cell in the same contorted position and ordered to kneel with their head to the ground near the bathroom area.
Violence intensified in rooms labeled for rule violations or ongoing punishment. In blind spots outside the range of surveillance cameras, abuse escalated further, with guards using attack dogs to terrorize detainees who were forced onto the floor beneath the feet of their jailers.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
