Saydnaya, Syria, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Syrian jails were an extortion machine funding ousted rulers

NAMPA / AFP

2024-12-16

Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's vast network of prisons was not simply a tool of his brutal crackdown on opposition to his rule, it was a money-making machine for his supporters. Desperate Syrians, clinging to the dream of seeing missing sons, husbands and sisters again, say they were systematically shaken down for bribes that together amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. And, worse, in many cases the assorted officials, lawyers, g......

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Law & Politics

Berlin, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Germany urges Israel to 'abandon' plan to step up Golan Heights settlement

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Berlin, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Germany urges Israel to 'abandon' plan to step up Golan Heights settlement

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Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Syria's Kurds call for end to all military operations in the country: statement

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Moscow, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Putin says Russia has initiative across entire Ukraine front

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Ankara, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - Turkish rescuers search infamous Syria jail

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