A 35-year-old man identified as Samer al-Housani, from Ariqa town in the western suburbs of Suwayda governorate, was arrested on April 27, 2023, by Syrian regime forces during a campaign of raids and arrests targeting gatherings of internally displaced persons (IDPs) on the outskirts of Nahta town in the eastern suburbs of Daraa governorate. He was taken to an undisclosed location. The raids also involved physical assaults and theft of cash, cattle, cars, and motorbikes owned by the residents of these. Unofficial encampments
The arrest was made without any court-issued legal warrant being presented. Samer’s family was not informed of his arrest, while his phone was seized, and he has not been allowed to contact his family or a lawyer.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) is concerned that he may be subjected to torture in detention and may go on to become yet another case of enforced disappearance, with 85 percent of all those detained falling into this category.
We call for the provision of both material and moral reparations for the victims of such detentions and for their families, and call on all parties to put an end to all arbitrary detentions whose only purpose is to spread mass fear and extort people.
We also call on the Syrian regime to reveal the fate of the thousands of persons forcibly disappeared by regime forces. We have serious concerns about their fate.
