Syrian refugee children who fled to Jordan with their families have lunch at an amusement park in Amman on Saturday. — ReutersMishaal Al-Otaibi Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Speaking to the Saudi Gazette in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, after their escape from the persecution of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime, Syrian siblings – 17-year-old old Basel and 14-year-old Hani – recounted their harrowing experience in detail. Basel and Hani, who spent nearly a month and a half in captivity, reached Cairo with their parents from Homs, the hotbed of Syrian resistance against the atrocities of the regime, and are examples of the victims who are being subjected to inhuman torture at the hands of the regime's forces. The teenagers said that 133 people were locked up in their 10 square meter prison cell. They were allowed to go to the bathroom once every week. Detainees, ranging between the ages of 12 and 70, were served food once every two days consisting of eight loaves of bread per 12 inmates. The detainees, all of who were suspected of aiding the Syrian opposition, were chained, beaten and subjected to electric shocks. “When we were in the midst of a group of youths in the Shabeeha suburb of Damascus, soldiers surrounded us and asked us to show our IDs. When they realized that we are from Homs, they started beating and kicking us without any provocation. They then detained all the youths from Homs, Aleppo and other places where the opposition has showed stiff resistance to regime forces," they said. “They then handed over us to security agencies who took us to the detention center. On our way to the center, we were subjected to beatings by the security men deployed at each checkpoint we stopped at and we were forced to say: There is no God except Bashar. “Our names were recorded at a police station where we were under interrogation. They accused us of instigating violence, organizing street demonstrations and coordinating opposition forces. They then locked us up in the cell with at least 133 inmates." The brothers said their prison cell lacked proper ventilation and many of the detainees were nursing broken limbs while others were brought in unconscious after being subjected to brutal torture. Basel and Hani said they were subjected to various forms of torture, including beatings, burning with lit cigarette butts and electric shocks. “Had the soldiers known that our elder brother is a member of the Free Syrian Army, they would have killed us." Despite their ordeal, the brothers said the experience had strengthened their resolve against the regime. “The ordeal in prison helped us to stiffen our vehement opposition to the Assad regime and emboldened us to sacrifice our lives for the cause of putting an end to the brutal, aggressive and barbarous regime of the notorious criminal Bashar," they both said. Abu Faras, the boys' father, explained the circumstances that led to the family's escape to Egypt. “I was afraid for the safety of my younger children and their mother after my eldest son Faras joined the Free Syrian Army. When Basel and Hani disappeared, I searched for them day and night and finally learned they had been detained. One regime soldier asked me to pay a 300,000 Syrian pound ($4,590) ransom for their release. I collected the money by selling my car and gave it to the soldier. After their release, I took them to Egypt and we don't know if we will ever be able to return to our homeland one day." Umm Faras, the boys' mother, said she is proud that one of her children is part of the Free Syrian Army and encouraged Basel and Hani to join their brother and take up arms. “I used to serve members of the revolution by preparing them meals and washing their clothes while I was in Homs," she said.
