‘A number not a name’: In Syria, freed prisoners recall horrors of the past

A man gestures in Saadallah al-Jabiri Square as people celebrate, after Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended, following a rapid rebel offensive that took the world by surprise, in Aleppo, Syria, December 8, 2024 [Karam al-Masri/Reuters]

Idlib, Syria – “My name was number 1100,” Hala said, still fearful of being identified by her real name.

Hala is one of the thousands who have been freed from the prisons of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, after it spectacularly collapsed amid a rebel offensive in less than two weeks.