Torture Continues After the Fall of the Regime: 66 Victims in Transitional Government Detention Centers
Human rights reports have documented the deaths of 66 detainees inside detention centers of the Syrian Transitional Government since the fall of the former regime, in cases resulting from torture, ill-treatment, and medical neglect during 2025 and 2026.
The reports indicated that these cases reflect the continued grave human rights violations inside detention centers, amid the absence of official accountability. They noted that many detainees face harsh conditions, including physical and psychological torture and medical neglect, which in some cases lead to death inside the prisons.
The reports added that some of the victims were civilians detained due to their civic activities or participation in peaceful demonstrations. It was also noted that the bodies of several victims were handed over to their families showing clear signs of torture, without any official explanations regarding the causes of death or disclosure of accountability measures for the responsible parties.
2025 Toll
According to the human rights reports, the number of detainees who died under torture during 2025 reached approximately 61 people, with deaths distributed across the months of the year as follows:
January: 8 detainees killed
February: 13 detainees killed
March: 4 detainees killed
April: 6 detainees killed
May: 2 civilians killed
June: 3 detainees killed
July: 9 detainees killed
August: 10 detainees killed
September: 3 detainees killed
October: 3 detainees killed
Victims in 2026
During 2026 up to the present, human rights reports have documented the deaths of five detainees inside detention centers.
On January 8, 2026, a young man from western Homs, belonging to the Alawite community, died inside one of the Syrian Transitional Government forces’ detention centers about two weeks after his arrest. According to private sources, the young man was subjected to physical torture and medical neglect before his body was delivered to a hospital in Homs city, where clear signs of torture were evident.
The source explained that the young man had been arrested on charges of participating in peaceful demonstrations calling for an end to violations against members of the Alawite community and demanding federalism.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented, on January 31, 2026, the deaths of four people from the neighborhoods of Habib al-Sheikh Maqsoud and Al-Ashrafieh due to torture inside detention centers affiliated with the transitional government, after they were arrested in connection with events that occurred in these areas on January 26.
Calls for International Investigation
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights called on the international community and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to stop violations inside detention centers and to launch transparent investigations into deaths under torture.
The Observatory emphasized that the continuation of these violations without accountability amplifies the suffering of victims’ families and endangers the lives of more detainees, stressing that each number in this toll represents a painful human story that requires immediate action to ensure the protection of detainees and to hold those involved in these crimes accountable.
