Syria: Rare footage shows thousands of IS prisoners awaiting trial in al-Hasakah central prison

W/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison, al-Hasakah
M/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
M/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
M/S Prisoners laying on the floor under linen
M/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
W/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
M/S Remains of meals on surface
M/S Prisoners inside cell
M/S Prisoners inside cell
M/S Prisoners inside cell
W/S Guard opens door
W/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
M/S Reporter entering prisoner Abd Alrahman's cell *UPSOUND* (Arabic): "Hello"
M/S Paintings inside prisoner Abd Alrahman's cell
M/S Alrahman painting
C/U Alrahman painting in his cell
SOT, Abd Alrahman, Prisoner (Arabic): "I wouldn't do the same again, because it was a lesson, a lesson in a sense that one learns what is wrong and what is right, and its natural that a sane man would choose the right thing."
SOT, Reporter (Arabic): "What was wrong?"
SOT, Abd Alrahman, Prisoner (Arabic): "Their [ISIS] actions, their way of killing, they are unjust, they are arrogant, they discriminate between the civilian and the ones that are affiliated with the state [Islamic state]. If you are from the state, you are better and all the civilians must become part of it. It's not ok if you don't, you must join them and fight. Their killing of innocent people. A lot of mistakes."
M/S Paint and brushes
C/U Alrahman painting
C/U Palette drawing
C/U Alrahman painting tree branches
SOT, Abd Alrahman, Prisoner (Arabic): "[This painting] is about a prisoner of mind. Here the black represents the darkness, and here he wants to free himself but he cannot reach to the key and he needs some help just like I am imprisoned and the party [SDF] helped me, they gave me this equipment to paint. So this painting represents someone who wants to free himself but needs some help."
M/S Alrahman painting
M/S Prison cell door
M/S Prisoners at al-Hasakah central prison
M/S Guard looking inside prison cells
M/S Prisoners in cell
W/S Halls inside prison
SCRIPT
Thousands of men suspected of being affiliated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIL/ISIS) await trial in al-Hasakah central prison in northeast Syria, now administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Rare footage from inside the prison shot on Monday December 2 shows detainees in orange jumpsuits sitting on mattresses in overcrowded cells while SDF guards keep watch.
According to Abd Alrahman, a detainee from Iraq, guards have allowed him to paint in his cell.
"[This painting] is about a prisoner of mind, here the black represents the darkness," he said. "Here he wants to free himself but he cannot reach to the key and he needs some help just like I am imprisoned and the party [SDF] helped me, they gave me this equipment to paint."
Some 5,000 detainees from 54 countries are reportedly held in the prison, some of them teenagers. Al-Hasakah central prison and other detainment facilities in north-eastern Syria are at the centre of a dispute between Washington and its European allies, who have yet to find a solution to prosecute prisoners from Western countries.
According to the Pentagon, of the roughly 10,000 suspected IS prisoners held by the SDF in the region, about 8,000 are from Iraq and Syria. Although the US State Department has declined to say how many are from Europe, they are estimated to number in the hundreds according to some reports.