Two members of the Christian Syriac Orthodox Creed Council, named as George Yousef Safar and Samer Danhou Kouriyeh, both from al Qameshli city in the northeastern suburbs of Hasaka suburbs, were arrested on September 21 by the Syrian Democratic Forces’ Internal Security Forces, known as ‘sutor’ in al Qameshli city over the council’s refusal to adopt the educational curriculum imposed by the SDF in its areas of control in schools affiliated with the council, with both being taken to an undisclosed location.
SNHR notes that no members of either of the detainees’ families were informed of their arrest or whereabouts, with their phones being confiscated, preventing them from contacting their families. SNHR fears that they will be subjected to torture and ultimately classified as forcibly ‘disappeared’, like approximately 85 percent of all detained persons in Syria.
SNHR can confirm that at least 3,817 Syrian citizens are still detained or forcibly disappeared in SDF detention centers, constituting a grave threat to the detainees’ wellbeing, especially given the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Image shows George Yousef Safar.