The images of how the rebels open the prison cells and release prisoners leave no one unmoved. The ousted regime has been notorious for throwing oppositionists in jail where they were often brutally tortured. Now they were suddenly free.
Bashar al-Assad waged a bloody 13-year war against those who wanted to see a democratic Syria. Because of him, 12 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homeland. Now he is suddenly gone.
Loosely composed group
The rebels who overthrew her are a loosely assembled group. HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) is branded a terrorist and their goal is to create an Islamic state. Whether they will succeed in that, we do not know yet. But many of Syria’s women are surely trembling. Those who have lived secular lives have reason to fear that their freedom will be curtailed.
Even the country’s minorities are worried. Few countries in the world have as many different ethnic groups as Syria. And if they don’t fit into an Islamic state, their lives can become a nightmare.
Al-Assad has fled the country. But Prime Minister Mohammed al-Jalali remains and has already held talks with the rebels. They have declared that he may continue to have control over institutions and authorities until they have officially taken over power. But since the rebels are divided, the question is whether they will manage to rule the country together. In any case, it is likely that they will want to get rid of al-Jalali as soon as possible.
Put the cheer in the throat
Many cheered after the revolution in Iran in 1979, but it was hijacked by a hard-line Islamist regime that is still in power.
In Syria, the cells are now being emptied of Syrians whose crime has been that they did not have the right political opinion. Let’s hope that the prisons are not filled with those who do not share the political views of the rebels.