HOMS, Syria: A year ago, Mohammad Marwan found himself stumbling, barefoot and dazed, out of Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus as opposition forces pushing toward the capital threw open its doors to release the prisoners. Arrested in 2018 for fleeing compulsory military service, the father of three had cycled through four other lockups before landing in Saydnaya, a sprawling complex just north of Damascus that became synonymous with some of the worst atrocities committed under the rule of now-ousted President Bashar Assad.

When al-Assad fell, Mohamad Yamen finally felt free. On the first anniversary, he speaks of his hopes for the future.

HOMS, Syria: A year ago, Mohammad Marwan found himself stumbling, barefoot and dazed, out of Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus as opposition forces…