Mezze prison

Mezzeh prison (Arabic: سجن المزة‎) is a now-defunct Syrian prison overlooking the capital, Damascus. Mezzeh (also transcribed as al-Mazzah, el-Mezze etc) is the name of a neighborhood in western Damascus. Both military and political prisoners were held at Mezzeh prison. The prison was an infamous embodiment of Syrian government repression. Widespread human rights abuses and torture has been reported from the Mezzeh prison throughout its history but most notably during the rule of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000). The hill-top structure dates back to crusader days. The French rebuilt it and used Mezzeh to house anti-colonial fighters and political prisoners. However, the prison took on a central importance for Syrian political life only in...