When the Assad regime fell in December 2024, opposition forces opened prison doors across Syria. For many, Assad’s demise was both a shock and a moment of long-awaited freedom. Yet for those who had endured years of torture, the scars – both physical and emotional – remain. How did they survive the unimaginable?

On this week’s episode of Now You Know, we talk to Maysaa Al Hassan. She was freed after 11 years in prison. She shares her experience of survival, and why she’s speaking out now: to seek justice for herself and for the countless women who endured Syria’s brutal prison system.