A man, identified as Moutaz al-Haj Ahmad from Manbij city in eastern rural Aleppo governorate, was arrested on August 19, 2024, by personnel from the Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) Military Police at a checkpoint, known as al-Matahen Checkpoint, in southern Manbij. He was then taken to an SDF recruitment camp.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Moutaz has not been allowed to contact his family. We are concerned that he may be subjected to torture in detention and may go on to become another enforced disappearance cases, with 85% of all those detained in Syria 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 SDF to reveal the fate of thousands of people forcibly disappeared at its hands.
