Women from Syria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were exposed to torture and ill-treatment in wartime prisons, have told their experience following the press release held for women and children in Syria's prisons under the slogan of "Until the last woman and children are free".

"Mostly women and children are exposed to persecution and indignity in prisons in Syria," said Zahra Al-Badawy, one of the victims of Syrian war exposed to torture and ill-treatment in regime's prisons.

"They want to break up families in Syria. They either arrest the father or the mother and the family breaks us," she said. "We'd like to have our voices delivered to everyone. We expect help from anyone who may help us."

"There are those who were raped at the age of 7"

"When I was arrested, I was first raped. I'm just one of the thousands of women who've been raped. I never thought I'd survive as a Muslim," said Bakira Hasecic, President of the Association of Women Victims of War based in Sarajevo.

She then has begun to investigate evidence to get revenge from the perpetrators on the legal means of the living. "In this context, I accessed the audio recordings of some of the criminals and I was successful to put them into prison. Many people have been arrested as a result of the evidence we have obtained, but there are also those who have not been arrested for lack of evidence."

Hasecic stated that they have established an association as women who are victims of war, to continue to struggle against injustice. "We told media what we went through. We have reached many in this way. We have a total of 25 thousand women under our association umbrella. Many of these women were raped. Among them, there are those who were raped when they were only 7 years old."

"I can describe what I've been through as hell"

"I can describe what I've been through as hell, as someone who's been arrested before," said Syrian Curi, who was a photographer in the Syrian city of Lattakia, was arrested and taken to the military airport and then prisoned.

"I just want to tell you not what I've been through, but what I've heard from others. The first thing we encountered when we were arrested was psychological pressure and physical torture. Thank God, I survived, but I want help for freeing the prisoners who are still there."

"We arrested women have not only suffered in prison," said Cuti and underlined that they continue to have a lot of difficulties such as making a family after the release. "We ask you for psychological assistance in these matters," she said.

"I promise that I will do my best as a servant"

"I am very honored to meet with such an important issue on the World Human Rights Day on December 10," said artist Gamze Özçelik, who participated in the press release.

Saying that the stories are really painful and very real, Özçelik underlined that, "It's important that we do everything we can. Not only in Syria, but in our country, in Bosnia, in East Turkistan, in Palestine, the atrocities are very difficult to explain. I promise that I will do my best as a servant."

ILKHA