"They killed the patient and the doctor—because the latter requested a CT scan." The patient was killed because he was a detainee, and the doctor was executed because he wrote in his medical report: "Cause of death: head trauma." He had simply followed the medical oath, which dictates that a doctor must treat any patient, regardless of their affiliations or beliefs.
The repression extended beyond the medical staff working in detention centers or hospitals receiving detainees from security branches—it reached the point of stifling anything that did not align with the regime’s policies. A small but telling example. When Dr. Hussein Haidar placed a cup of tea on the approval document for his medical study to be used as a reference at the University Children’s Hospital in Damascus, the university secretary told him, "We don’t have enough paper to print lecture notes for the university, doctor, so how can we print your reference for you?"
According to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, 87 out of 857 medical personnel were killed due to torture by various parties to the conflict in Syria between March 2011 and 2020. Of these, 652 were killed by Syrian regime forces, including 84 who died under torture—three of whom appeared in the Caesar photographs. The regime also recorded nine of them as deceased in the civil registry.
The report further attributes the deaths of 69 medical personnel to Russian forces, 36 to ISIS, and 29 to the armed opposition, including two who died under torture. The distribution of deaths over the years shows that 2012 was the deadliest year, with 158 victims. The second-highest toll was in 2014—the year Dr. Samir Smadi was arrested, a case this article will soon discuss —with 147 medical personnel killed.
"They Kept You in Mind"
Dr. Mohammad Majed Al-Shaib, a general surgery specialist, told SyriaUntold about a moment that sealed his fate.
"One day, a patient came to me with a gunshot wound to the chest. The bullet had lodged inside him, causing a pneumothorax and internal bleeding. I treated him by inserting a chest tube, and his condition stabilized. I urged his family to take him out after the evening prayer by any means necessary. I guided them through a path that felt like something out of a police movie, making sure he wouldn’t be arrested and sent to another medical facility—most likely the infamous 601 Military Hospital, the Slaughterhouse, where many never made it out alive. I taught them how to care for the chest drainage device, and one of them reassured me that a nurse would follow up on his condition at home. They carried out the plan, and I never heard about him again."
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After that, his father insisted he leave the country. But the doctor remained steadfast, believing the regime would inevitably fall. His father, however, pressed on.
"There has been a lot of talk about your treatment of protesters. Today was the last straw. I overheard something at the grocery store—someone speaking about you without knowing who you are, and without knowing I’m your father. He said, ‘May God reward him— the surgeon from Idlib with a white beard. He saved my brother’s life, operated on him at the National Hospital in Daraya, and helped us get him out of there.’"
"Since he said this in public, in a crowded place, you should know, my son—the state has definitely heard about it. And they have definitely ‘kept you in mind.’"
The doctor’s father’s fears were well-founded. A Physicians for Human Rights report revealed that healthcare workers detained for providing medical care to injured protesters had a 91% lower chance of release compared to those detained for political activity. Their likelihood of dying in detention was 400% higher, while the risk of enforced disappearance was 550% greater.
A Jug For Both Water and Waste
While Dr. Al-Shaib managed to escape detention, ophthalmologist Khaled Arnous recounted to SyriaUntold the suffering he endured in the summer of 2014—a period that was "short in time, long in grief and sadness." "I was held inside Cell Number 4, the same one shown in the short video I received after the liberation of Mezzeh Airport. Though my detention was brief, I lost 12 kilograms in a single month, and in many ways, I continued to suffer the war even after my release."
"I was accused of delivering messages from detainees to their families,” he continued. “As a result, I was placed in Cell Number 5, where I spent ten days alone until the investigation was completed. Looking back, I believe I was one of the fortunate ones—something I only understood later. Several officers who had ties to Major General Jamil Hassan, the head of the Air Force Intelligence at the time, had put in recommendations on my behalf."
Jamil al-Hassan, known as “The Godfather of the Explosive Barrels,” was later issued an arrest warrant by Interpol (after the fall of Assad), accusing him of involvement in war crimes, torture, and genocide.
Regarding the detention cell, Arnous says, "It was one meter by one and a half meters in size, and it had only one plastic jug, used for drinking water, relieving oneself, and to fill tea. It was a celebration when I was given a plastic cup to drink cloudy tea from without the 'spout' of the jug."
Regarding his food, "I went on a hunger strike for several days because of the filth I saw. We were allowed to go to the bathroom and fill the jug from the dirty bathroom tap twice a day. I was allowed to shower once for three minutes, and to breathe once for several minutes outside the cell."
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The doctor’s suffering did not end after he was released wearing the same clothes he entered the cell in. “For several months, I would wake up to a daily nightmare, in which I would be awakened by the sound of the iron door of the cell opening and closing, along with the hoarse voice of the jailer, ‘Get up you bast…’, and the sounds of the daily torture of other detainees - including women - and their screams from the pain of torture with various tools (a wheel and a whip).”
Anesthesiologist Mohammad Salem Attal, 64, from Hama, also carried painful memories from his arrest. “The security forces took me from the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University in 1984 when I was a student there,” he shared. “The torture was most intense in the terrifying Tadmor desert prison. When I refused to admit that I was an ‘organizer’—because I wasn’t—they inserted two wires into my ears and connected them to an electric current. The feeling was indescribable. My head shook violently in all directions with each shock. I felt as though my jaw had come out of place from how violently my teeth were chattering. I lost control of my mouth, jaw, and head. Blood was pouring from my mouth, running down my neck and chest, until I heard the interrogator’s voice: ‘Drag that dog out, that’s enough for today’”
A Doctor Was Killed Because of a CT Scan of a Detainee
After Dr. Al-Shaib, who risked his life to save his patient, and Dr. Arnous, who risked his life to deliver a message from a detainee to reassure his family and paid the price for it, there are other doctors whose bitter experiences were never heard. One such story is shared by Amjad Matawi, a neurosurgeon residing in Germany, about his friend Dr. Samir Samadi, who was arrested from his home in 2014.
Speaking to SyriaUntold, Matawi recounted, “Samir Samadi was a neurosurgeon working at Ibn Al-Nafis Hospital. During his shift, he received a call about an emergency case involving a patient with a head injury who had been detained at the Political Security Branch known as the ‘Faihaa Branch.’”
After taking the clinical history and examining the detained patient, Dr. Samir Samadi determined that the case required a CT scan, as the head trauma could lead to complications like a brain hemorrhage, which had not yet shown clear symptoms. However, this decision infuriated the responsible security officer, who proceeded to kill the detained patient inside the emergency department with a second fatal blow to the head, right in front of Dr. Samir. The doctor then wrote on the death report as his medical and ethical duties required: "Head trauma."
An hour later, Dr. Samir received a call from the criminal Dr. N.Z., accompanied by the criminal nurse H.W. and members of the Political Security Branch. During the call, Dr. Samir was subjected to various insults and falsely accused of terrorism and having ties to ISIS. They then forced him to change what he had written on the report.
A few days later, the Syrian security forces arrested Dr. Samir, based on a report from the hospital director, N.J., and the same nurse. Amjad Matawi mourned his friend, explaining, “Samir was the father of a two-year-old child, as far as I remember, and just a few days after Samir’s martyrdom, they arrested his brother for inquiring about Samir’s fate… and how many Samirs were detained.”
The Al-Faihaa Branch, where Dr. Samir Al-Samadi was arrested, is one of the most prominent departments of the Political Security in Damascus. It earned its name because it is located at a corner facing the Al-Faihaa Sports City, directly across from the Russian embassy.
No Papers for Medical References
The Assad regime’s repressive policies against doctors were not confined to arrest, torture, and killing; they also extended to scientific, medical, and academic aspects. Dr. Hussein Nadim Haidar, a pediatrician and neonatologist with a master’s degree, shared his experience with SyriaUntold. “In 1985, I submitted my master’s thesis at the end of my specialization in pediatrics and neonatology,” he recalled. “My thesis was extensive and precise, offering students at the hospital updated insights on advancements in this field. The head of the session attempted to cast doubt on the research, but I was present and responded with documented scientific evidence.”
Afterward, the committee awarded Dr. Haidar a high mark, and an official decision was issued recognizing his thesis as the first Arab medical reference in the field of neonatal jaundice. It was also decided that his thesis would be printed at the expense of Damascus University.
Dr. Haidar graduated and began making regular trips to follow up on the decision. However, he received the response. "I did not receive anything from the university council." Eventually, he decided to visit the university council in person. “I allocated a day to travel early from my town to Damascus. After asking for permission, I met with the university secretary. I placed the decision in front of him on the table while he was talking on the phone. Then the buffet employee entered, carrying a tray with two cups. He placed the water cup on the table and, for the tea cup, placed it on top of my decision paper. The 'bottom' of the cup left an imprint like a seal, and I felt terrible."
Describing the mockery of science and medicine, he continued, “After the secretary finished his call, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip from it, then looked at me from the corner of his eye. He pulled out the paper, read it, looked at me again, and said, ‘Doctor, if we don’t have paper to print the university notes, how are we going to print your thesis?’ I told him, ‘Thank you for saving me from the revisions. May God bless you.’”
Who is Responsible?
In response to the question “Who is responsible for protecting doctors?” the obvious answer might seem to be that each union is responsible for protecting the rights of its members. To further clarify the specifics of the Doctors' Union in Syria, Dr. Yahya Abdul Hamid Abu Yahya, a specialist in pediatrics and neonatology, explained to SyriaUntold what happened:
“The first union was established in Syria in 1943, then the law on practicing the medical profession was passed in 1952, and independent unions were established in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, and Latakia. After that, Law No. 32 was issued on 22 July 1974 regarding the union organization of human doctors, which stipulated the establishment of a single union and the unification of the four retirement funds into one.”
However, according to Dr. Abu Yahya, the most disastrous date came on August 16, 1980, when “Hafez al-Assad’s regime issued Law 31, which stipulated the dissolution of all unions, including the Doctors’ Union. New structures were established to control union work, by adding articles to its internal regulations, which strengthened the grip of the Baath Party and its intelligence apparatus on union work, so that it became the one who set the union’s policy regardless of the interests of its members.”
In a related context, Dr. Mohammed Hamza, a dentist and expert in humanitarian issues, confirmed to SyriaUntold, “The health sector workers in Syria, including doctors, nurses, and health cadres, showed great courage despite all the targeting they were subjected to, mainly by the former regime and its allies. Many of them devoted themselves to their work and continued despite the imminent danger, driven by a deep religious, moral, and national commitment to their patients and their community, sometimes at the expense of their mental and physical health. As we tried to show in a recently published scientific study, which clarifies the extent of the enormous pressures that health workers were subjected to throughout the previous years.”
As for his fears regarding the current situation, Dr. Hamza shared, “After the release of only a limited number of the total number of those forcibly disappeared in detention centers following their liberation, I have a current fear that the chances of finding many of our colleagues alive have diminished. This makes it likely that the final death toll of health workers may be higher than the previously circulated number, estimated at 948 health workers, as documented by the Physicians for Human Rights organization. In my estimation, it may exceed double, even reaching four times in the worst-case scenario, based on what the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented—approximately 3,364 health workers who were arrested or forcibly disappeared, 98% of whom were detained by the former Syrian regime.”
Today, after the fall of the regime, doctors remain hopeful for a better future, one that seeks to turn a dark page in the country's history, as Dr. Hussein Haidar puts it: “A new Syria that consumes papers with knowledge, not pictures of Mr. President.”
