The Free Press
NewslettersSign InSubscribe
Syria’s New Rulers Tortured Me. Now They Are Targeting My Friends.
Syrian Alawite refugees cross the Nahr al-Kabir river into the Lebanese village of Hekr El Dahri. (Marwan Naamani via Getty Images)
My captors dreamed of total rule. Now, the Alawites and the Christians live under their nightmare.
By Theo Padnos
03.13.25 — International
--:--
--:--
Upgrade to Listen
5 mins
Produced by ElevenLabs using AI narration
45
104

My friend Ali, who lives in the coastal mountains of Syria, is currently confronting a version of the dilemma Jews in Eastern Europe would have confronted in the spring of 1939, as the German tanks rolled into Prague.

It is clear he and the some three million Alawites who live in those mountains are in mortal danger because of the Islamist terrorists who now rule Syria. That the threat is worsening by the day. But his family—Alawites who have lived there for centuries, long before the Assad family assumed power—know no other home.

Should he run?

Continue Reading The Free Press
To support our journalism, and unlock all of our investigative stories and provocative commentary about the world as it actually is, subscribe below.
Annual
$8.33/month
Billed as $100 yearly
Save 17%!
Monthly
$10/month
Billed as $10 monthly
Already have an account?
Sign In
To read this article, sign in or subscribe
Theo Padnos
Theo Padnos is an American journalist and author who was held prisoner by Jabhat al-Nusra from 2012 to 2014. He is the author of Blindfold: A Memoir of Capture, Torture, and Enlightenment.
Tags:
Syria
Comments
Join the conversation
Share your thoughts and connect with other readers by becoming a paid subscriber!
Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

No posts

For Free People.
LatestSearchAboutCareersShopPodcastsVideoEvents
Download the app
Download on the Google Play Store
©2025 The Free Press. All Rights Reserved.Powered by Substack.
Privacy∙Terms∙Collection notice