Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, who opposed Assad's regime, found dead in Sednaya prison

Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, who opposed Assad's regime, found dead in Sednaya prison

File image of Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada. (Courtesy: @One_Dawah)

Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, who was very vocal about the brutal torture unleashed by the regime of deposed president Bashar al-Assad, was found dead inside thenotorious Sednaya prisonwhich is located on the outskirts of Damascus.

Hamada had become the face of those who spoke against the crimes committed by the Assad regime. He had time and again spoken about the horrific treatment he faced in prison.

Hamada faced detention and torture alongside thousands of other prisoners after the 2011 uprising against the rule of Assad.

“Mazen had endured torture so cruel, so unimaginable, that his retellings carried an almost otherworldly weight. When he spoke, it was as if he stared into the face of death itself, pleading with the angel of mortality for just a little more time,”said Hamada’s friend, the photographer and director Sakir Khader, as reported by The Guardian.

He “became one of the most important witnesses against Assad’s regime”, said Khader.

Behind the prison in Assad's regime

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)recorded15,102 deaths because of torture in prisons which were under the control of Assad's regime between March 2011 and July this year.

It stated that more than 100,000 were believed to be detained and missing. However, some of them may have been found now after the prisoners were set free by the rebels.

Head of SNHR Fadel Abdulghany had said on live television that all 100,000 people had probably “died under torture” in prison. SNHR tracks people who have “forcibly disappeared”.

Watch:Sanctions & Civil War Leave Syrian Pound in Freefall

In 2013, Hamada was released and the officials granted him asylum in theNetherlands in 2014. After his release, he started touring Western countries and spoke about the atrocities unleashed on him by the Syrian authorities.

He shot a documentary called "Syria’s Disappeared", in which he said, “The law will hold them to account. I will not rest until I take them to court and get justice.”

Sara Afshar, director of Syria’s Disappeared, shared a picture of Hamada in which he was receiving a standing ovation for his testimony.

“He moved people, and he spoke over and over again. Why did the world not act? Why?” shequizzed.

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(With inputs from agencies)

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