A twenty-one-year-old man, Muhannad Hasan al Matar, from al Maghla village in southeastern Raqqa governorate was arrested by Syrian regime forces personnel in a raid on his home on June 9, 2022. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
SNHR notes that the arrest was carried without an arrest warrant. His family weren’t informed of the arrest, his phone was confiscated and he wasn’t allowed to contact his family or a lawyer.
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 Syrian 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.
