Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada found dead in Sednaya prison

Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada was found dead in Sednaya prison, where he had been detained after returning to Syria in 2020. He had previously escaped and shared his experiences of torture under Bashar al-Assad's regime, becoming a symbol of its brutality. Hamada was released in 2013 and granted asylum in the Netherlands, where he spoke out against the regime. His return to Syria raised concerns among friends, who believed he may have been lured back to silence him. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported over 15,000 deaths from torture in regime prisons since 2011. Hamada's death highlights the ongoing human rights abuses in Syria, particularly in notorious facilities like Sednaya, described as a "human slaughterhouse."