A Syrian former equestrian champion has advised how he was jailed and tortured for 21 years after he beat Bashar al Assad’s older brother in a contest.
He received a number of gold medals and captained the nationwide equestrian crew within the late Eighties, together with his profession peaking in 1993 on the third Worldwide Equestrian Championship in Latakia, the place his flawless efficiency secured victory for the crew.
Mr Kassar was a detailed buddy of Bassel al Assad however the achievement apparently drew the ire of his fellow equestrian, who had faltered in the course of the competitors.
Bassel was the inheritor obvious to the Syrian presidency earlier than his dying in a automotive crash in 1994 led to his brother Bashar al Assad’s return from London, the place he labored as an eye fixed physician, to be educated to take over when his father died.
Picture:
Adnan Kassar (left) with Bassel al Assad
“The crowd lifted me on their shoulders. It was a moment of pure joy, but for Bassel, it wasn’t the same. That day marked the beginning of my nightmare,” he mentioned.
Shortly after the occasion, Mr Kassar was arrested over obscure accusations, which he mentioned have been fabricated on account of Bassel’s resentment.
He advised how his detention changed into a chronic ordeal marked by brutal interrogations and years of bodily and psychological abuse.
“I was kept underground for six months, beaten constantly, and interrogated without end,” he mentioned.
He was then transferred to the infamous Sednaya Jail, dubbed the “human slaughterhouse”, the place he mentioned “the torture only got worse”.
Picture:
Former Syrian President Hafez al Assad, his spouse Aniseh, sons Maher, Bashar, Bassel, Majd and daughter Bushra (standing, L-R). Pic: Sana/Reuters
Mr Kassar mentioned his therapy turned much more extreme after Bassel died.
“They blamed me for his death,” he mentioned. “Every year on the anniversary of his passing, the torture intensified.”
He was additionally held for seven-and-a-half years at Tadmur Jail, which can be notorious for its inhumane situations.
“They pierced my ear one morning and broke my jaw in the evening,” he recalled, saying acts so simple as praying have been met with excessive punishment.
“For praying, they lashed me 1,000 times. My feet were torn apart, my bones exposed,” he mentioned.
Many activists repeatedly raised his case following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution, which demanded the top of the Assad household rule.
However regardless of worldwide appeals, his title was repeatedly excluded from amnesty decrees issued throughout his imprisonment.
Mr Kassar was lastly launched on 16 June 2014 after sustained strain from worldwide teams – almost 22 years after his arrest.
Till now, he has remained silent about his imprisonment, fearing that any try and share his story may lead to re-arrest and a return to jail, however has spoken out after Assad was toppled as Syrian president.
“After years of imprisonment, torture, and injustice, the revolution finally toppled the dictatorial regime,” he added.
