The Cell Story: Syrian Prison Stories after Hafiz Asad.

An essay is presented on the prison experience in Syria under the rule of former President Hafez Al-Assad and his son President Bashar Al-Assad. It presents several prison narratives including "The Cocoon," by Hasiba 'Abd al-Rahman, "In Praise of Hatred" by Khalid Khalifa, and "The Shell: The Diary of a Voyeur" by Mustafa Khalifa. The author states that writings in Bashar-era explicitly depict torture and executions in prison while before Bashar narratives focused on isolation in prison.