The head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Syria has called “on all parties across Syria to prevent the destruction of crucial records, like arrest logs, lists of detainees or deceased persons, as well as court and hospital records”.

Stephan Sakalian made the statement after his team made a visit to the notorious Sednaya prison where they “saw piles of damaged documents scattered throughout different rooms”.

“These records may contain crucial information that could help families find long-awaited answers,” he said.

The statement repeated the ICRC’s call for access to all places of detention in Syria.

“The images we saw this week illustrate how vital this access is to prevent some of the worst human suffering in Syria or anywhere else in the world,” it added.