[4] Al-Khatib, like many prisons under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is known from testimonies given by former detainees and survivors who recount the poor conditions and use of systematic and generalized torture that included rape and sexual violence.
Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian colonel who was convicted of crimes against humanity in Germany, was in command of Branch 251 that managed the prison.
[5] At the beginning of 2019, two former employees of the Branch, sergeant Eyad al-Gharib [fr] and colonel Anwar Raslan, were arrested in Germany.
[8] On 13 January 2022, Anwar Raslan, whose trial took place after the conviction of Al-Gharib, was found guilty of crimes against humanity by the High Court of Koblenz, as well as of the murder of 27 detainees between 2011 and 2012.
[9][10] The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria identified Branch 251 and Al-Khatib prison as a facility controlled by the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate where death in detention and torture have occurred.