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American Describes Dark Side of Syrian Rebellion
(New York Times) C. J. Chivers - Matthew Schrier, 35, an American photographer, was held in a rebel-controlled prison in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Wearing masks, his captors began whipping his feet with a metal cable. When the torture ended he could not walk. As they dragged him to his cell, he remembers his captors' parting phrase: "Have you heard of Guantanamo Bay?" For seven months, Schrier was a prisoner of jihadi Islamist fighters, accused of being an American spy. His captors drained one of his bank accounts. They also sent messages from his e-mail account to his mother and his best friend assuring them he was fine but had extended his trip to do more work. Schrier escaped on July 29, he said, by squeezing out of a basement window. Schrier said his captors were mostly members of the Nusra Front, a group aligned with al-Qaeda and designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. His experience reflects the sharply deteriorated climate for foreigners and moderate Syrians in areas subject to the whims of armed religious groups.