HOMS, Syria
One year ago, Mohammad Marwan stumbled barefoot and disoriented out of Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison as rebel forces opened its gates during their advance on Damascus.
Arrested in 2018 for avoiding military service, the father of three had been transferred through four detention centers before arriving at Saydnaya, a sprawling complex north of the capital that became a symbol of the atrocities committed under ousted President Bashar Assad.
“They said, ‘You have no rights here, and we’re not calling an ambulance unless we have a dead body,’” Marwan recalled, describing a gauntlet of beatings and electric shocks that greeted new prisoners.
His homecoming to his village in Homs province on December 8, 2024, was a day of celebration, surrounded by relatives and friends. But in the year since his release, Marwan has wrestled with the profound physical and psychological scars of his six-year imprisonment.
He developed tuberculosis—resulting in chest pain and breathing difficulties—and was plagued by crippling anxiety and insomnia.
Today, he is undergoing treatment for tuberculosis and attending therapy sessions at a rehabilitation center in Homs for former detainees. While his recovery is slow, he says both his physical and mental health are gradually improving.
“We were in something like a state of death,” Marwan reflects on his time in Saydnaya. “Now we’ve come back to life.”
His story mirrors the painful, halting journey of a nation trying to heal and rebuild after decades of conflict and repression.
By James Kisoo
