The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it recorded at least 146 arbitrary arrests across Syria in August, including four against children, adding that the fate of 115 detainees is unknown. It said that the Assad regime continues to punish Syrian citizens for their political views.
In a report issued on Wednesday, the Network said that the Assad regime detained 58 people, while 44 others were detained by the PYD militia, including three children in the reporting period.
The report indicated that 21 people were detained by Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham militant group, including a child, while 31 others were detained by other parties.
The Network said that the majority of arrests took place in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, and Idlib, adding that it recorded arrests against refugees returning from Lebanon to Syria.
The monitoring group said that the Assad regime has issued a total of 17 amnesty decrees since 2011, the last of which was issued in March 2020, for petty crimes and felonies while excluding political detainees. It noted that the majority of detainees have been forcibly disappeared.
According to the report, the Assad regime continues to show utter disregard for international treaties and conventions it has ratified, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as it continues to arbitrarily detains hundreds of thousands of people without arrest warrants.
The Network called on the UN Security Council to enforce resolutions 2042 and 2043 (2012) and 2139 (2014) which calls for an end to enforced disappearances. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)