Syrian regime forces arrested three civilians from Raqqa city, as they were passing through a checkpoint in Ma’dan city in the eastern suburbs of Raqqa governorate on April 14, 2022, taking them to an undisclosed location.
The three detained civilians had previously agreed to a security settlement in al Sabkha town in Raqqa governorate’s eastern suburbs in February 2022.
The arrests weren’t carried out according to a legal court warrant, and none of the detainees’ family members were given any information about their detention. Their phones were confiscated, and they haven’t been allowed to contact any family members or a lawyer. We fear they 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 over 140,000 individuals forcibly disappeared by the Syrian regime 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.
