A man, identified as 24-year-old Wael Mekhlef al-Mefdi from Abu al-Neitel village in the northern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate, was arrested on May 27, 2023, by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) personnel who raided his home in the village. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Wael’s phone was seized following his arrest, and he has not been allowed to contact his family.
SNHR is concerned that he may be subjected to torture in detention and may go on to become yet another forced disappearance case, with 85% of all those detained in Syria falling into this category.
We call for the provision of reparations for the victims and their families, both materially and morally, 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 for revealing the fates of thousands of people forcibly disappeared at the hands of the SDF.
