The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it recorded no fewer than 161 cases of arbitrary detention, including two children and a woman, across Syria in January 2020.
In a report issued on Sunday, the rights group said that the Assad regime detained 69 people, while the PYD militia detained 52 others in the reporting period. It also said that 37 people were detained by unidentified militant groups, while three others were detained by Haya’t Tahrir al-Sham. It noted that the victims included at least 109 who were forcefully disappeared.
The report indicated that the PYD militia violated many of the basic rights and practiced many violations, such as torture and enforced disappearance. It pointed out that some militant groups carried out arrests and torture against residents in the areas under their control.
The report showed that the majority of the arrests took place in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Damascus and, Hasaka, pointing out that ISIS committed widespread, systematic violations such as torture and enforced disappearance in the areas that were under its control.
The report stressed the need to release children and women and stop taking families and friends as hostages of war. It also called on the office of the UN special envoy to include the issue of detainees in the discussions of the upcoming Geneva meetings.
Moreover, the Network called on the UN Security Council to follow up on the implementation of its resolutions to put an end to enforced disappearance. It also called on the UN Human Rights Council to follow up on the issue of detainees and enforced disappearances in Syria and raise in its annual meetings, stressing the need for cooperation and coordination with local human rights organizations active in Syria. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
