15,000 Lira: The Cost of “Financing Terrorism” in Assad's Field Courts
April 30, 2025, 11:18 am

15,000 Lira: The Cost of “Financing Terrorism” in Assad's Field Courts

لؤي الزغلول

Fifteen thousand Syrian pounds, an amount equivalent to the price of a bag of flour or milk cartons, was enough to lead “Louay Taisir Al-Zaghloul” to the death chambers of Sednaya Prison, accused of financing terrorism, without being granted the right to defend himself.

Louay was born in 1981 in Quneitra and moved with his family to the Bustan al-Dour neighborhood in Damascus. One day in 2013, while crossing a National Defense checkpoint near the water point in Jaramana, he was stopped by checkpoint personnel led by someone named “Hussein Shuaib.” Following a thorough search, the personnel discovered that Louay was carrying a small sum of money, no more than 15,000 lira, which was all he had that day and was meant to buy basic necessities for his two daughters, “Sham” and “Lin.” This modest amount of money became enough of a charge to apprehend him.

Louay was not allowed to return home; instead, he was kidnapped by the checkpoint and handed over to National Defense camps. There, he began his life within the walls of the Republican Guard prison in Qasioun, which was notorious for its brutal torture practices. He was subsequently transferred to the Military Police branch in Qaboun, where he spent nearly two years without trial or lawyer, and without any evidence to substantiate the charges against him.

In the absence of any proper legal procedures, the First Military Field Court issued a death sentence against him presided over by Captain “Samir Abbas,” without Louay even being summoned to attend the session. The charge against him was financing terrorism, and the evidence? 15,000 lira.

After that, Louay was transferred to the military prison of Sednaya, where the real hell began. His strong body and hopeful eyes became a source of annoyance for the jailers, who took pleasure in torturing him until he sustained a paralysis after one month, rendering him unable to move or feed himself.

Despite the harsh conditions he endured, Louay clung to his humanity. He remained in a third-floor cell, left wing, room number 5, where he asked his fellow detainees to deliver a message of love and longing to his daughters, in case any of them had the opportunity to escape this hell.

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