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Military Hospital: A Stage for Silent Liquidation – New Documents Reveal the Fate of Detainees in Syria Post-Cells
Medical leaks from the "Tishreen Military Hospital" in Damascus reveal the extent of the violations faced by Syrian detainees. These files indicate that many victims transferred from detention cells for treatment are sent to military hospitals under tight security, only to be later declared dead under mysterious circumstances, or left to their fate under the burden of deliberate medical neglect.
The documents indicate a continuous pattern of critically ill cases entering the hospital, including conditions such as kidney failure, severe infections, internal bleeding, and clear physical emaciation, reflecting the systematic torture inflicted within detention centers. Some patients die just days after arriving at the hospital, while others go missing later, raising questions about their true fate.
Notably, these documents do not clearly record patient names but rather use symbols or numerical indicators, reflecting a policy of obfuscation aimed at concealing the victims' identities. Most of the accompanying personnel are from military police or security branches known for their practices in political detention.
The Hospital as a Transit Station for Liquidation
A review of the documents reveals vague medical notes, indicating "patient death without response to treatment," without sufficient explanations regarding the cause of death or the initiation of an independent medical investigation, reinforcing the possibility that some of these cases result from direct liquidation or deliberate medical neglect as a slow method of killing.
In other cases, records document the admission of detainees to the hospital at advanced stages of death, suggesting that the purpose of their transfer was not treatment but rather to give a health-related façade to their deaths.
These leaks from Tishreen Hospital represent a crucial link in understanding the fate of hundreds of detainees who "left prison but did not arrive home," and should be included as evidence in any international legal proceedings or documentation entities that address crimes against humanity in Syria.
The tables obtained cover the period from 2011 to 2017.
