A media activist, named as Ali Saleh al Wakaa from Abu Hamam city which is administratively a part of al Sh’aitat area in the eastern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate, was arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces in Hajin Hospital in the eastern suburbs of the governorate, during a visit by a delegation of the International Coalition to inspect the rehabilitation operations in the hospital on February 4, 2021, and taken to an undisclosed location.
SNHR notes that no member of Ali’s family was informed of his arrest, with his phone being confiscated, preventing him from contacting his family. SNHR fears that he will be subjected to torture and ultimately classified as forcibly ‘disappeared’ like approximately 85 percent of the individuals detained in Syria.
SNHR notes that about 3,398 Syrian citizens are still detained or forcibly disappeared in the SDF’s detention centers, constituting a grave threat to their wellbeing given the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
