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A dramatic shift has gripped Syria after the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December, leaving many violent jihadists feeling frustrated and 🔴 unsettled. A fresh report by The Economist (14 January 2025) sheds light on the political, security and religious contradictions shaping this “New Syria.” (2/10)
According to the magazine, the new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Muhammad al-Jolani), is trying to enforce a more tolerant approach.
• He reversed a decision to seize an old Ottoman palace by New Year’s Eve, despite a local jihadist commander branding the resident female artists’ activities “sinful.”
• He’s also allowed Christmas decorations, church crosses and bars with mixed-gender dancing—moves that have enraged hard-line Salafists.

🧵 1: Overview
Years before Assad's regime fell, reports like Amnesty International’s ‘Stop the Torture and Horror in Syria’s Prisons’ (2016) ©AI and the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) ©SNHR 2019 documentation of 72 torture methods across 50 detention centers exposed unimaginable brutality. Now, with newly uncovered images post-collapse in December 2024, the world finally sees how deeply entrenched this system was.
#Syria #HumanRights
Source: ©AI, ©SNHR 2: New Findings Post-Regime Collapse ️📰
In late December 2024, the Financial Times released ‘Investigators race to secure evidence of atrocities by Syria’s Assad regime’ (Dec 29, 2024) ©FT. New videos, photos, and survivor testimonies confirmed the scope of torture once hidden behind prison walls. Investigators worldwide are racing to document these crimes for potential legal action.
#Syria #HumanRights"
Source: ©FT

🧵 The Curriculum Controversy in Syria
1️⃣ Initial Backlash A storm of criticism emerged among Syrians after the interim Ministry of Education announced amendments to the curricula. The changes, posted on the Ministry's Facebook page, affected subjects from first grade to the third year of secondary school. While some deletions targeted content glorifying the ousted regime, intense backlash arose over the replacement of materials with a Salafi Islamic approach to history.
Images: © Chris McGrath 2️⃣ Examples of Curriculum Amendments:
- Islamic Education Textbooks (All Grades): Replaced the concept of "martyrdom" from "for the sake of the homeland" to "for the sake of God."

- Ninth-Grade Textbook: Changed the phrase "governed by the law of justice" to "governed by the Sharia of God."
Replaced "principle of human brotherhood" with "principle of faith-based brotherhood."

- First-Year Secondary School Textbook: Altered the phrase "and whoever commits major sins and considers them permissible, their recompense in the afterlife" to "and whoever commits major sins and considers them permissible has disbelieved, and their recompense in the afterlife is Hellfire."

- Second-Year Secondary School Islamic Education Lesson:Removed the word "law" from the phrase "commitment to Sharia and law."

- Third-Year Scientific Secondary School: Deleted the entire unit on "Origin and Evolution of Life."
Removed the paragraph "Evolution of the Brain" from the Science subject, including all related images and graphs.
In the Arabic Language subject, deleted the text "Guardians of the Homeland."

Thread: Solitary Confinement in Red and Black Cells – A Glimpse into Oppression in Syria
1/ 🟥 Red Cell, Black Cell:
A chilling video from the infamous "Branch 251" (Al-Khatib Branch) of Syrian intelligence shows abandoned solitary confinement cells in red and black. These cells, once filled with detainees, are known for their cramped size, poor lighting, and horrific use of torture. 2/ These cells represent more than just spaces; they symbolize the brutal oppression of the Assad regime, infamous for its systematic use of violence, detention, and human rights abuses over 54 years of authoritarian rule.
© AFP

To understand the transformation of Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) and his role in shaping post-Assad Syria, we revisit a pivotal 2021 PBS documentary. Martin Smith’s Frontline interview offers rare insights into Julani’s journey, rivalries, and ambitions. 🧵 1️⃣ The @NewsHour Documentary: A Rare Interview
In mid-2021, journalist Martin Smith @MartinSmithDocs of PBS's Frontline conducted the first in-depth, televised interview with Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani). This documentary was the most comprehensive look at the HTS leader, covering his ideology, alliances, and conflicts.

🧵
1/ Exclusive revelations from Syria:
The Sunday Times @thetimes has uncovered secret intelligence files exposing the terrifying extent of Assad’s Stasi-like surveillance state. Here’s what stood out to me: ⬇️ 2/ The "birds" of Assad's regime:
These informants spied on their communities—neighbors, friends, even family—for money, power, or out of fear. Their betrayal destroyed trust at every level of Syrian society.

Thread 🧵 | A Day of Controversy and Conflicting Reports in Syria

1️⃣ BACKGROUND: Early this morning (December 25), a video began circulating online, allegedly showing armed men entering the mausoleum of Abu Abdullah Hussein Al-Khasibi in Aleppo and killing five unarmed civilian caretakers before desecrating and burning the shrine. The post claimed that the video is recent and that it targeted a site revered by the Alawite community. 2️⃣ VERIFICATION ATTEMPT:
Activist and fact-checker @PrimoAhmad (Director of @VeSyria) says the footage is real but misleading, as it is not from today.
The platform “@VeSyria” dispatched a team to the shrine to verify. According to them, security personnel at the entrance prevented anyone from entering, citing “security instructions” from higher authorities.
Security guards also stated that the circulated video dates back to clashes in late November, when opposition fighters (as part of the “Counter the Aggression” operation) confronted pro-Assad forces inside the shrine. They alleged that the bodies shown are not civilian caretakers but regime soldiers who had used the shrine as a defensive position.

Thread 🧵
The Shell: A Testament to Syria’s Darkest Corners
1/ The most important novel now on the sidewalks of Damascus is The Shell: Memoirs of a Hidden Observer—hailed as “a powerful testimony to the brutality of oppressive regimes.” It’s among the most significant works documenting political imprisonment in Syria and one of the greatest contributions to prison literature in the Arab world. 2/ Published in Beirut in 2008, The Shell was banned in Syria under Assad’s rule. A unique blend of autobiography and fiction, it narrates Mustafa Khalifa’s harrowing 13-year imprisonment in Tadmor Prison for alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood—despite being a Christian.

1/ The claim that expertise gained in governing #Idlib will aid in running #Damascus and #Syria is naive. How will Al-Julani and HTS manage relations with foreign governments? #Syria is far greater than #HTS. The nation boasts hundreds of skilled professionals better equipped to handle this complex transition. 2/ Who gave Al-Julani the authority to transfer power without consulting the #Syrian people? Syria’s future must not be decided by any single faction. We demand a nation for all Syrians—a country of freedom and democracy, not a playground for ideological experiments.

1/
Lawyer Nabil Halabi reports that lower cells in #Saydnaya Prison, known as "red wards" or "death wards," remain sealed. The regime disabled electronic gates and ventilation systems, leaving detainees trapped in what are described as human slaughterhouses. 2/
Rescue teams face challenges due to limited resources and the overwhelming presence of detainees’ families gathering at the prison, fearing for their loved ones trapped inside at risk of suffocation.