After year in Al-Assad's prisons, Turkish man who wanted to defend Gaza reunited with his family

Shafaq News/ After over a year in detention under the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad, Turkish flower seller Engin Arslan, who was arrested while passing through Damascus on his way to fight in Gaza, has been reunited with his family in Turkiye.

Arslan reunited with his parents in Gaziantep, southern Turkiye, near the Syria border, after his release last Sunday during the prison openings. His family had eagerly awaited his return.

The 30-year-old will undergo medical exams after allegedly enduring severe torture during his 13-month imprisonment in the Far' Falastin, one of the Al-Assad regime's “most terrifying” prisons.

Arslan illegally entered Syria on October 11, 2023. He had told his family in Manisa, western Turkiye, that he crossed the border by jumping over the wall and was resting in a mosque before heading to Gaza. That was the last they heard from him until a Syrian prisoner released from the Far' Falastin informed the family that Arslan was in detention.

Despite the family's year-long efforts, including contacting Turkish authorities with strained ties to the Al-Assad regime since 2011, they couldn't secure his release. However, after the regime's fall last Sunday, families and fighters entered prisons to free detainees, leading to Arslan's release and his return to Turkiye.

Local media reported Arslan's claim of “horrific torture” in Al-Assad's prisons, where he was detained despite being acquitted, and his desire to “go to Gaza to defend its residents from Israeli attacks.”

Notably, Arslan was not the only Turk in Syrian prisons. Recent reports have revealed detainees from other countries, some still alive, others having died under torture. Many stories, documented through photos, videos, and survivor testimonies, have revealed “horrific” methods of torture and killing in Syrian prisons, including Sednaya and the security branch prisons.