In a police state like Syria, prison and torture play an integral role in helping the regime instill fear in the population and maintain control over the people. Its detention facilities have become some of the most infamous in the region and its prisoners some of the most abused. While reviewing detainment in Syria, UMAM D&R felt further study was needed on the language and lexicon used within this difficult world.

After reviewing hours of testimony provided by former detainees in Syrian prisons and studying available, associated documentation, UMAM D&R produced a glossary of prison jargon. Most of the entries in this glossary are derived from literature related to unique (and uniquely disturbing) experiences to which former detainees and torture survivors were subjected in Syria's notorious Tadmor Prison.

This publication was part of the Shared Suffering: Exploring the Abyss of Syrian Prisons initiative and made possible thanks to funding from the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa).

In a police state like Syria, prison and torture play an integral role in helping the regime instill fear in the population and maintain control over the people. Its detention facilities have become some of the most infamous in the region and its prisoners some of the most abused. While reviewing detainment in Syria, UMAM D&R felt further study was needed on the language and lexicon used within this difficult world.

After reviewing hours of testimony provided by former detainees in Syrian prisons and studying available, associated documentation, UMAM D&R produced a glossary of prison jargon. Most of the entries in this glossary are derived from literature related to unique (and uniquely disturbing) experiences to which former detainees and torture survivors were subjected in Syria's notorious Tadmor Prison.

This publication was part of the Shared Suffering: Exploring the Abyss of Syrian Prisons initiative and made possible thanks to funding from the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa).