“I was 30 minutes away from execution,” reveals freed Syrian prisoner

Thousands of Syrian prisoners have been freed following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which many described as the "Kingdom of Silence." A former inmate revealed that he, along with several others, was moments away from execution just before the fall of the Ba'ath government.

Harrowing accounts are emerging from those released from Assad’s notorious prisons after the rebels successfully entered key Syrian territories, including the capital, Damascus.

According to Al Jazeera, many of the freed prisoners recounted the horrific conditions they endured.

One viral video featured a man saying, "I had no name in prison, just a number. I was detained by Assad's regime, and my family believed I was dead."

The man added that many prisoners were held without informing their families, spending years in captivity with no communication or hope of release.

Another survivor revealed that he was among 54 prisoners who were scheduled to be hanged just half an hour before their unexpected release. "Thirty minutes ago, we were to be executed. Now, we are free, standing in the middle of Damascus," he said.

Ali Hassan, another prisoner, was released after enduring 39 years in captivity. Arrested by the Syrian army at the age of 18 while crossing a checkpoint in northern Lebanon in 1986, Hassan had been a university student at the time.

His family had no information about his fate during his decades-long imprisonment.

Previosuly, Amnesty International raised concerns about 'mass hangings' carried out during Assad’s rule, while the UN highlighted the systemic torture in over 100 detention facilities.

Sednaya Prison, in particular, is infamous for being one of the most horrific torture centers in the world.

Survivors recounted chilling stories of abuse, with prisoners being assaulted with pipes and subjected to electric shocks. Families of thousands of detainees abducted by the regime were left in the dark, never knowing the fate of their loved ones.