Branch 215: The Raid Branch

According to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria's reports from 2012 to 2019, Branch 215 was systematically documented as a site of torture, enforced disappearance, and death in custody. Former detainees described the intake process: arrival blindfolded, immediate beating, stripping of clothing, placement in overcrowded underground cells. Standard interrogation techniques included the shabeh (suspension from ceiling by bound wrists, often for hours or days), electric shock applied to sensitive body parts, beating with cables, and the falaqa (beating of the soles of the feet). According to Human Rights Watch's 2015 report, detainees were denied food, water, and medical care for extended periods. Multiple former detainees described witnessing fellow prisoners die from injuries or disease without any medical intervention. The Commission of Inquiry on Syria concluded that practices at Branch 215 constituted torture and crimes against humanity.