The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it had recorded no fewer than 156 cases of arbitrary detention in March 2020, including 97 that turned into enforced disappearance. It noted that the majority of cases were carried out by the Assad regime’s forces.
In a report issued on Thursday, the Network indicated that the detainees included two children and a woman. It said that the Assad regime detained 74 people, including a woman, adding that the PYD militia detained 35 others, including two children. It also said that Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham militant group was responsible for nine arbitrary arrests.
The report pointed out that those detained by the Assad regime are being subjected to brutal torture in very poor hygienic conditions.
The report warned that the lives of approximately 130,000 detainees held by the Assad regime are at serious risk of an outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in view of the inhumane conditions in these centers.
The SNHR stressed the need for the United Nations and the guarantors of the Astana format to set up a special committee to monitor to address the issue of enforced disappearance as well as press for the disclosure of the fate of 98,000 forcibly disappeared persons in Syria, 85 percent of whom were detained by the Assad regime.
The report indicated that the PYD militia were involved in various violations of basic human rights, such as torture and enforced disappearance. It pointed out that other armed forces carried out arrests and torture against residents in the areas under their control.
The report called on the UN Security Council to follow up on the implementation of its resolutions. It called on the Human Rights Council to follow up the issue of detainees and enforced disappearances in Syria and highlight it at all periodic annual meetings. It also called for cooperation and coordination with local human rights organizations operating in Syria. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
