A man, identified as Ahmad al-Yousef, who works as a security guard at Hajin Hospital in his home city of Hajin in eastern Deir Ez-Zour governorate, was arrested in a raid on the hospital by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) personnel on September 10, 2023, as a way to pressurize his brother into surrendering himself to the SDF. Ahmad was then taken to an undisclosed location.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Ahmad’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 forcibly disappeared person, with 85% of all those detained in Syria falling into this category.
We call for the provision of both material and moral reparations for all the victims and 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 SDF to reveal the fate of thousands of people forcibly disappeared at its hands.
