Ahmad al-Ali, man aged 59 from al-Istiqlal neighborhood in al-Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood in southern Damascus governorate, resides in al-Kiswa city in southern Damascus suburbs governorate. He was arrested on December 20, 2022, by the Iranian Abu al-Fadel al-Abbas Brigade, a pro-regime militia, at a temporary checkpoint in Tishreen neighborhood in al-Hajar al-Aswad city. The arrest took place as he was attempting to enter the Istiqlal neighborhood to check on his house. He was taken to an undisclosed location.
The arrest was made with no court-issued legal warrant. the detainee’s family was not informed of his arrest, while his phone was seized and he was not allowed to contact his family or a lawyer.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights is concerned that he may be subjected to torture in detention and may go on to become yet another case of enforced disappearance, with 85% of all those detained falling into this category.
We call for the provision of both material and moral reparations for 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 for revealing the fate of the thousands of persons forcibly disappeared by Syrian regime forces. We have serious concerns about their fate.
