Inside the world's toughest jail: Syrian prison 'worse than Guantanamo' houses ... trends now
Two Britons who have been stripped of their citizenship are among 4,000 terrorists being held in a prison judged the world's worst jail by human rights watchdogs.
The men are being held in the Panorama prison in the north eastern Syrian city of Hasakah, which is being run by Syrian Democratic Forces who are supported by the UK and US coalition.
Security experts fear that housing so many radicalised terrorists together is a major blunder because if the men were able to overpower prison guards, they would form a formidable 4,000-strong terrorist army.
About 400 inmates were able to escape from the facility in January 2022.
Among those being held in the prison are Shahan Choudhury, 37, from east London and Ibrahim Ageed, 29. They have both been held for five years.
Shahan Choudhury, pictured, was allegedly radicalised while on remand at Belmarsh Prison in London by hate preacher Anjem Choudary before fleeing to Syria
Ibrahim Ageed, pictured, a former medical student from Leicester, is one of two Britons being held by Syrian Democratic Forces in the north east of the country after being captured while fighting for ISIS
More than 400 inmates managed to escape from the jail in 2022 leading to fears of further break outs
Choudhury's wife, Mahek, who has also been stripped of her British citizenship, is being held in a refugee camp. Now stateless, she is also prevented from returning to Tower Hamlets.
According to an Amnesty International report, detainees are denied access to adequate food and medical care. The facility has a major outbreak of tuberculosis with one or two men and boys dying from the disease each week.
The Times this week were allowed into the prison to talk to Choudhury and Ageed.
Choudhury was captured in 2019. At the time he was digging graves for jihadis killed during vicious fighting in Baghouz.
He said he has seen worse things in jail than he did while living under ISIS control.
'In my first year, I watched at least a thousand people die. In my room right now I am crammed with all the Europeans; many of them are dead. One guy from Sweden is currently very sick. He will probably die and we will watch him. They see this as our punishment.'
According to Amnesty International, the UK Government has provided £15m in cash to expand the prison.
In a report, the human rights organisation said: 'Those detained in Panorama have been denied access to adequate food and medical care leading to illnesses and diseases, including a severe outbreak of tuberculosis that has been ongoing for several years.
