The ISIS Prisons Museum is a virtual museum space that uses state-of-the-art digital technology to exhibit forensic investigations into crimes committed by ISIS. It combines online digital storytelling and physical immersive exhibitions to promote public awareness of ISIS crimes and to serve those who were imprisoned by the group in Syria and Iraq.
The Hisba Diwan of the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) controlled the communities under the organization’s rule according to its strict interpretation of Sharia. It regulated people’s lives and behavior down to the smallest personal details, even within their homes. Any violation of its rules was considered an offense subject to specific penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment, flogging and other forms of torture.
In the course of its work documenting the ISIS era in Syria and Iraq, the ISIS Prisons Museum has obtained tens of thousands of documents related to the Hisba Diwan’s operations and has recorded information about the prisons affiliated with it. This has helped create a comprehensive picture of the Hisba Diwan’s workings and its lasting impact on society, the details and key findings of which are presented in this topic.
Through virtual tours of four prisons which serve as models for similar detention facilities in Syria and Iraq, the museum examines how the Hisba Diwan’s detention centers were managed, how detainees were treated, and the nature of their charges. It also studies how ISIS made architectural modifications to various buildings in order to repurpose them as prisons in which residents of Raqqa and Mosul were repressed.
The 3D virtual tours allow visitors to explore the details of two prisons in Raqqa: one located in the basement of the Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan School, and another in a commercial warehouse in the Sharia al-Wadi area. Two prisons in Mosul are also featured: one in the Mar Yousuf Church, and another in a residential home in the Meydan neighborhood. Each tour is accompanied by an in-depth investigation into the respective prison based on precise architectural analysis, official documents, and first-hand testimonies. These investigations provide insight into the identities of the prison guards, the interrogation and torture inflicted on detainees, the sentences they received, and their daily lives in prison.
The museum has conducted dozens of interviews with former detainees in Hisba Diwan prisons in order to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences. This topic presents 22 of these cases.
Two investigative reports analyze the Hisba Diwan:
The first explores the Diwan’s structure, administration and regulations as described in the “General Regulations of the Hisba Diwan”, a text which provided the Diwan’s constitutional framework. The ISIS Prisons Museum retrieved a copy of this document which was left behind after ISIS fled.
The second is based on hundreds of documents covering cases specific to the Hisba Diwan. They include smoking violations, so-called “public morality offenses”, and what ISIS deemed “creedal crimes”. This report provides a broad overview, supported by statistics and official records, illustrating the extent of the group’s control over society and the coercion it imposed on the population.
An exclusive interview with “Abu Seif al-Maqas” is also included. Abu Saif was formerly a prominent ISIS member in Raqqa. His name appears in hundreds of investigation reports preserved in the ISIS Prisons Museum archives. His account is the first of its kind given by a high-ranking prison guard in the organization. It provides detailed insights into the workings of the Hisba Diwan.
Finally, dozens of internal documents belonging to the Hisba Diwan are presented and analyzed. These range from internal directives and laws regulating economic, medical, and service sectors to rules dictating societal behavior and the definitions of “permitted and prohibited actions.”
Four 3D tours display prisons affiliated with the ISIS Hisba Diwan.
These prisons were established in vastly different locations, each repurposed from its original function. The Muawiyah School Prison was set up in the basement of a secondary school in Raqqa, while the Sharia al-Wadi Prison was located in a commercial warehouse on one of the city’s main streets. As for the two Mosul prisons examined in this study, one was established inside a privately owned residential home in the Meydan neighborhood, while the other was housed in the historic Mar Youssef Church.
Despite their different locations, all Hisba prisons shared common characteristics. Most detainees were subjected to flogging, either as a means of extracting information or as a form of punishment. In addition, the majority of survivors interviewed reported being forced to pay fines in exchange for their release. In most cases, detainees spent relatively short periods in these facilities, often just a few days, as the charges against them were not security-related. In rarer instances, some were imprisoned for several months.
These virtual tours provide detailed insights into the various spaces in each prison, as well as reconstructions of the sites as they appeared during ISIS rule. Each tour is based on in-depth investigations, covering architectural modifications, administrative structures, interrogation methods, and sentencing procedures. These findings are verified by cross-referencing survivor testimonies and documented records.
The so-called Islamic State (ISIS) produced a text titled the “General Regulations of the Hisba Diwan”. This 106-page document details the administrative structure, role, functions, laws, rulings, penalties, and enforcement mechanisms of the Hisba Diwan.
The ISIS Prisons Museum holds a copy of the text in its archive. The text serves as a key reference for understanding the role of this administrative body within the wider organization. The Hisba Diwan can be likened to a hybrid of the Interior and Justice Ministries, merging aspects of law enforcement and judiciary functions. It oversaw public behavior, ensuring compliance with ISIS laws and directives. At the same time, it included judicial elements, such as Hisba judges and investigators, who performed duties typically assigned to justice ministries in modern states.
By analyzing the General Regulations alongside tens of thousands of documents found in Hisba-affiliated prisons, and by cross-referencing them with survivor testimonies, researchers were able to construct a comprehensive view of the Diwan’s structure, operations, and societal impact. These findings are explored in two investigative reports available in this section.
The first investigation provides a detailed examination of how the Hisba functioned, offering an in-depth analysis of the General Regulations. It explains the administrative hierarchy, the methods used to control, oppress, and intimidate civilians, the specific regulations imposed, and the enforcement procedures carried out by Hisba personnel.
The second investigation focuses on Hisba documents related to actual court cases, analyzing them in the context of the institution’s ideological and social control mechanisms. It assesses the extent of the Hisba Diwan’s dominance over the communities under ISIS rule, including restrictions on religious practices, personal conduct, clothing, food, and drink.
Following the collapse of ISIS rule, ISIS Prisons Museum teams entered several prisons affiliated with the Hisba Diwan, where they discovered tens of thousands of documents, including official records and written reports, as well as physical evidence including torture tools and personal belongings.
All these documents have been carefully archived, categorized, and analyzed. A selection is presented here to provide insight into the jurisdiction and control mechanisms of the Hisba Diwan. These records shed light on the extremist ideology that governed ISIS rule.
The following list is divided into five main sections, each containing relevant documents accompanied by explanatory notes. The showcased copies are original, exclusive, and precisely translated into English.
This collection includes:
Investigation records found in Hisba prisons.
Written court rulings issued by Hisba authorities.
Notifications, reports, and denunciation statements.
Internal and public directives issued by the Hisba Diwan.
Correspondence, financial receipts, and transaction records.
Catalogs:
Hisba Diwan
Administrative and Organizational Documents
Documents concerning Public and Personal Freedoms
Documents Concerning the Health Sector
Documents of the Women’s Division
Documents Related to Economic and Financial Affairs
Restrictions on Women’s Lives
Testimonies
This section presents the full testimonies of 22 former detainees, men and women, who were imprisoned in four Hisba prisons in Syria and Iraq. These testimonies were recorded at different times between 2020 and 2024.
The interviews were filmed inside the very prisons in which the witnesses were once held, allowing them to walk through the spaces with our team, recalling their experiences and observations. They provide detailed insights into the layout of the prisons, the way ISIS utilized different areas, and the modifications made to the buildings. Some interviews were also enriched with additional studio sessions, giving the witnesses the opportunity to expand on their stories and explore various aspects in greater depth.
The testimonies are presented in their entirety, without edits or omissions, and include precise English translations that reflect local dialects.
During ISIS rule over Raqqa, a man known as Abu Seif Maqas was notorious for his brutality and ruthlessness. His name was closely associated with prisons, and surveillance patrols that roamed the city to catch rule violators, arrest tobacco traders, and detain individuals suspected of opposing ISIS.
Abu Seif was an interrogator in the Hisba Diwan, and multiple former detainees interviewed by the ISIS Prisons Museum confirmed that he regularly used violence and torture during interrogations.
A museum team met Abu Seif at a SDF-run prison in northeastern Syria where he was detained following the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa. The team conducted a lengthy interview, confronting him with questions aimed at deepening understanding of ISIS structure, obtaining additional information about the prisons he worked in, and assessing the extent of the Hisba Diwan’s interference in civilians’ lives.
The transcript of this interview is presented verbatim, without revealing Abu Seif’s real name, in accordance with journalistic ethics and publication laws. Despite reservations about the accuracy of his statements, the IPM has chosen not to edit his account—even though many of his claims contradict the testimonies of dozens of former detainees, and some parts of his interview contain internal inconsistencies.
It is important to emphasize that this interview is not intended to provide a platform for ISIS, nor to serve as a form either of trial or justification. Instead, it seeks to expand our understanding of ISIS members and to extract insights into the world of ISIS from those who actively participated in shaping it.
