A forty-eight-year-old man, Muhammad Kalal al Abdo, a pediatrician from Abo Makka village in the eastern suburbs of Idlib governorate was arrested by Hay’at Tahrir al Sham personnel near al Zera’a Circle in al Dana city in northern Idlib governorate on June 7, 2022 after he passed a checkpoint on his way from his workplace in the city to Sarmada city in northern Idlib governorate, his place of residence. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
SNHR notes that his family weren’t informed of the arrest, his phone was confiscated and he wasn’t allowed to contact his family. We fear he might suffer torture and become forcibly disappeared, as has happened with 85% of detainees.
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.
