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Men’s jail in Syria labelled ‘world’s worst prison’

Hasakah prison in North East Syria has been labelled “the world’s worst prison,” The Times has reported, featuring interviews from prisoners who say their cells are overcrowded and that cellmates die beside them.

The jail is “worse than Guantanamo,” Reprieve has said, because lawyers are not allowed inside.

“These makeshift prisons are a new Guantanamo, funded out of the UK taxpayer’s pocket. And security experts have said repeatedly that abandoning these men in unstable territory makes us all less safe,” Reprieve’s joint executive director Maya Foa told The Times.

“A government serious about security and justice would have brought these men back to the UK long ago to stand trial in British courts where there are cases to answer. The do-nothing approach ensures that there will be no accountability and no justice for crimes committed by Isis.”