A man, identified as Mahmoud al-Sheikh from Qurqanya town in northern rural Idlib governorate, was arrested on September 18, 2024, by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) at a checkpoint near Sarmada city in northern rural Idlib governorate over his participation in anti-HTS protests in rural Idlib governorate. He was then taken to an undisclosed location.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Mahmoud 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 HTS to reveal the fate of thousands of people forcibly disappeared at its hands.
