A man, identified as 70-year-old Hafiz K’iebar from Souran city in the northern suburbs of Hama governorate, was arrested on June 13, 2023, by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) personnel in front of the mosque of Atma town in the northern suburbs of Idlib governorate, when he tried to stop HTS fighters from attacking an anti-HTS demonstration held by women in the town. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Hafiz’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 enforced disappearance case, with 85% of all those detained in Syria falling into this category.
We call for the provision of reparations for all victims of such violations 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 the fates of thousands of people forcibly disappeared at the hands of the HTS to be revealed.
