A foreign diplomat stares at clothes strewn around a cell inside the Saydnaya prison north of Damascus on January 3, 2025, during the visit of the French and German foreign ministers. The prison is infamous for its inhumane conditions and its central role in the violent repression carried out by the clan of the ousted Syian president Bashar al-Assad, particularly since the start of the civil war in 2011. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)