Aleppo Prison: Besieged from Both Sides

When rebel forces seized large parts of east Aleppo in July 2012, Aleppo Central Prison remained in government-controlled territory but was surrounded by conflict zones on multiple sides. Supply convoys bringing food and medicine were frequently disrupted. According to testimony gathered by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local Aleppo-based documentation networks, conditions inside the prison deteriorated severely: food rations were cut, medical care became unavailable, and the noise of artillery and airstrikes was continuous. Former detainees described the surreal experience of being imprisoned for opposing the regime while watching regime forces fight against the forces that, in theory, were fighting for their freedom. An unknown number of political detainees died in the prison during the siege years from malnutrition, untreated illness, and in some cases from blast injuries when shells fell near the facility. When rebel forces, led by HTS, captured Aleppo in November 2024, the prison was among the first facilities opened — predating the fall of Damascus by two weeks.