In Syria, civil registers disclose hundreds of prison deaths

Activists say the Syrian government has started updating civil registries to reflect deaths among its incarcerated population.

They say they have learned of the passing of hundreds of detainees, including leading voices in the popular uprising against President Bashar Assad, since the government began updating registries earlier this year.

Now they fear news of hundreds, if not thousands, of more deaths may soon follow.

For years, Yasser Khoulani sought news of his brothers Abdelsattar and Majd after they were hustled away by Syria’s secret police at demonstrations against Assad in 2011.

But last week, Khoulani learned from their updated civil registries that Abdelsattar and Majd perished in prison in 2013.