Books recounting torture in Syrian prisons or texts on radical Islamic theology now sit openly in Damascus bookstores, no longer traded in secret after iron-fisted ruler Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

"If I had asked about a (certain) book just two months ago, I could have disappeared or ended up in prison," said student Amr al-Laham, 25, who was perusing stores near Damascus University.

He has finally found a copy of "Al-Maabar" (The Passage) by Syrian author Hanan Asad, which recounts the conflict in Aleppo from a crossing point linking the city's rebel-held east with the government-held west, before Assad's forces retook complete control in 2016.

Last month, Islamist-led rebels captured the northern city in a lightning offensive, going on to take Damascus and toppling Assad, ending more than half a century of his family's oppressive rule.

"Before, we were afraid of being marked by the intelligence services" for buying works including those considered leftist or from the ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim movement, Laham said.

While many say the........

© Al Monitor