Mazen Fawzi Badriya from Eteil town north of Suwaida governorate was arrested by members of the Syrian regime’s infamous Air Force Intelligence Directorate on March 30, 2022 during a raid on his home in the town, after he criticized the living conditions and corruption in areas under the control of the Syrian regime on his Facebook account. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
The arrest wasn’t carried out according to a legal court warrant, and none of Mazen’s family members were given any information about his detention. His phone was confiscated, and he hasn’t been allowed to contact any family members or a lawyer. We fear he will be subjected to torture, and go on to become forcibly disappeared as has happened in 85 % of arrest cases.
SNHR calls for financial and psychological restitution for all victims and their families, as well as for an end to all arbitrary detention, and for the fate of hundreds of individuals forcibly disappeared by regime forces to be revealed.
We note that these arrests are carried out with the objective of spreading fear and terror in the community and blackmailing the detainees’ families. We have additional, well-founded fears for the detainees’ wellbeing due to the spread of COVID-19.