Video from a Horror House in Turkey Recirculates as Execution Inside Saydnaya Prison
The Claim
It was assumed the ‘presses’found in #SednayaPrison were for compressing bodies after their murder. #Syrians knew better. A video,found on a phone of one of the regimes monsters, shows a press,modified with glass shards,in action inside the prison. Yes,they Are that depraved.
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After Syrian opposition factions liberated prisoners from Assad's Saydnaya prison, social media users widely spread a video clip claiming to show a group of young men being previously crushed to death inside the prison.
An X user shared the video, along with the caption, “It was assumed the ‘presses’found in #SednayaPrison were for compressing bodies after their murder. #Syrians knew better. A video,found on a phone of one of the regimes monsters, shows a press,modified with glass shards,in action inside the prison. Yes,they Are that depraved.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral video and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a comprehensive reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the video to be outdated and unrelated to Syria.
Old Video Shows People in a Horror House in Turkey
Contrary to social media users, the video does not feature Syrian prisoners being crushed to death using the alleged “crushing machine” in Bashar al-Assad’s notorious prison, Saydnaya.
Misbar’s investigative team traced the original video to July 2022.
A Turkish YouTube channel, known for sharing clips from a horror house in Turkey, posted the video depicting a group of young men enjoying their time in a horror house called “Koleksiyoncu Korku Evi.”
Misbar’s team searched the YouTube channel’s bio and discovered that it is dedicated to sharing clips from the horror house, which has been operating in Turkey since 2015. The company designed 15 different games and entertained over 60,000 people.
Horror Reported in Syrian Regime’s Saydnaya Prison
After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed, the opposition factions freed prisoners from the infamous Saydnaya prison.
The BBC spoke to freed prisoners from Saydnaya who recounted consistent stories of mistreatment and torture by guards, executions of fellow inmates, corruption among prison officials and forced confessions.
In 2017, Amnesty International accused authorities of murder and torture at Saydnaya and demanded “justice and reparations for crimes under international law in Syria,” including the abuse of political prisoners.
Authorities established Saydnaya Prison in 1980. It stands atop a barren hill, surrounded by barbed wire, and has long detained opponents of the Assad regime.
The Turkey-based Association of Detainees and The Missing in Saydnaya Prison labeled it a “death camp” after the 2011 uprising, highlighting its role as the regime’s main political prison.
The released prisoners revealed to the BBC that they ended up in Saydnaya due to actual or perceived links to the rebel Free Syrian Army, opposition to Assad, or simply living in areas known for anti-regime sentiment.
Some faced accusations of kidnapping or killing regime soldiers and were convicted of terrorism. All confessed under “pressure” and “torture,” receiving lengthy sentences or death penalties.
The Associated Press released a haunting collage of images from inside the prison, revealing the horrors concealed behind razor wire and concrete walls in what many call “The Slaughterhouse.”
A heavy, coarse rope tied into a hangman’s noose lies on the ground. Prosthetic legs are scattered outside a cell, their owners’ fate unknown. Inside another cell, names cover the walls, perhaps the only evidence that some prisoners ever existed there.
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