Muhammad Jamil Dakkour, his wife, and their 17-year- old son are from Ghabagheb town in the northern suburbs of Daraa governorate. SNHR documented that they were arrested on May 19 by Syrian regime forces during a raid on their home in the city and were subsequently taken to an undisclosed location. SNHR notes that Muhammad was a conscript who defected from Syrian regime forces and was among those who previously agreed on a settlement.
We note that the arrest was conducted without any legal arrest warrant issued by a court and that no member of their family was informed of their arrest, with their phones being confiscated, preventing them from contacting any family members. SNHR fears that they will be subjected to torture and ultimately classified as forcibly ‘disappeared’, like approximately 85 percent of those detained by the regime.
SNHR can confirm that at least 130,000 Syrian citizens are also still detained in the regime’s detention centers, constituting a grave threat to the detainees’ wellbeing given the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
