A 63-year-old man, Razzouq Abdul Hamid Aboud from Sarmin city in the northern suburbs of Idlib governorate, was arrested by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham personnel in a raid on his home in Sarmin city on April 21, 2022 after he criticized the policies of the HTS, and he was taken to an undisclosed location.
SNHR notes that the detainee’s family members weren’t 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 thousands of individuals forcibly disappeared by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham 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.
