Tadmor Prison
Encyclopedia
Tadmor prison is located in Palmyra
in the deserts of eastern Syria
approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Damascus
(Tadmor, or Tadmur is the Arabic
name for Palmyra).
The structures were originally built as military barracks by the French Mandate
forces.
Tadmor prison was known for harsh conditions, extensive human rights
abuse, torture
and summary executions.
During the 1980s Tadmor prison housed thousands of Syrian prisoners, both political and criminal and it was also the scene of the June 27, 1980 Tadmor Prison massacre
of prisoners by Rifaat al-Assad
, the day after the Syrian branch of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood
failed in an attempt to assassinate his brother, president Hafez al-Assad
. Members of units of the Defence Brigades, under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, entered Tadmor Prison and killed an estimated thousand prisoners in the cells and the dormitories.
Tadmor prison was closed in 2001 and all remaining political detainees were transferred to other prisons in Syria.
Tadmor Prison was reopened on June 15, 2011 and 350 individuals arrested for participation in anti-regime demonstrations were transferred there for interrogation and detainment.
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
in the deserts of eastern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
approximately 200 kilometers northeast of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
(Tadmor, or Tadmur is the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
name for Palmyra).
The structures were originally built as military barracks by the French Mandate
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
forces.
Tadmor prison was known for harsh conditions, extensive human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuse, torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and summary executions.
During the 1980s Tadmor prison housed thousands of Syrian prisoners, both political and criminal and it was also the scene of the June 27, 1980 Tadmor Prison massacre
Tadmor Prison massacre
The Tadmor Prison Massacre occurred on 27 June 1980, the day after a failed attempt to assassinate Syrian president Hafez al-Assad. Members of the units of the Defense Companies, under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, brother of the president, entered into Tadmor Prison and massacred about a...
of prisoners by Rifaat al-Assad
Rifaat al-Assad
Rifaat al-Assad is the younger brother of the former President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, and the uncle of the current President Bashar al-Assad, all of whom come from the minority Alawite Muslim sect. He was born in the village of Qardaha, near Lattakia in western Syria. He is perhaps best known...
, the day after the Syrian branch of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
failed in an attempt to assassinate his brother, president Hafez al-Assad
Hafez al-Assad
Hafez ibn 'Ali ibn Sulayman al-Assad or more commonly Hafez al-Assad was the President of Syria for three decades. Assad's rule consolidated the power of the central government after decades of coups and counter-coups, such as Operation Wappen in 1957 conducted by the Eisenhower administration and...
. Members of units of the Defence Brigades, under the command of Rifaat al-Assad, entered Tadmor Prison and killed an estimated thousand prisoners in the cells and the dormitories.
Tadmor prison was closed in 2001 and all remaining political detainees were transferred to other prisons in Syria.
Tadmor Prison was reopened on June 15, 2011 and 350 individuals arrested for participation in anti-regime demonstrations were transferred there for interrogation and detainment.