The prison was an infamous embodiment of Syrian government repression.
Widespread human rights abuses and torture has been reported from the Mezzeh prison throughout its history but most notably during the rule of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000).
The hilltop structure dates back to crusader days.
During the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, the French rebuilt it in 1920s and used Mezzeh to house anti-colonial fighters and political prisoners.
[1] However, only in 1949, after the first Syrian coup d'état, did the prison take on a central importance for Syrian political life, when coup leader Husni al-Za'im imprisoned his predecessor in Mezzeh only to follow three and half months later when he was himself overthrown.