On May 8, 2023, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) carried out a joint raid with international coalition forces on Abu al-Netel village in the northern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour, in which they arrested two civilians identified as Mohammad Hamoud al-Bleikh and Abdul Hamid Muhsin al-Ayyad, both locals from the village, in raids on their homes. They were taken to an undisclosed location.
The arrest also involved a physical assault on a special-needs child identified as Ali al-Bleikh, born in 2007.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) notes that Mohammad’s and Abdul Hamid’s phones were seized following their arrest, and they have not been allowed to contact their families. SNHR is concerned that they may be subjected to torture in detention and may go on to become yet more forced disappearance cases, with 85% of all those detained in Syria falling into this category.
We call for the provision of reparations for the victims 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.
