A report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented that there were at least 161 cases of arbitrary detentions during the month of January, including 109 cases that turned into forced disappearances.
The 13-page report recorded the toll of the arbitrary arrests made by the parties active in the conflict over the past month, with the cases and incidents of detention distributed according to location.
The cases included two children and one woman.
According to the report, 69 people—including one woman—were arrested by Syrian regime forces, and three by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.
Rebel groups arrested 37 people, and 52 were arrested by the Syrian Democratic Forces, including two children.
The report presented the distribution of arrests in January according to governorate. Most were in Aleppo, then Deir ez-Zor, followed by the Damascus Countryside, and Hassakeh.
The report said that most arrests took place without a warrant, when the victim passed through a checkpoint, or during raids.
Often regime security forces are responsible for the arrests, without the judiciary being involved, and no charges were brought against the detainees, which the report considered to be in violation of the Syrian constitution.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham controls broad areas and asserts its authority over residents residing there.
Because Tahrir al-Sham is a political entity and has a hierarchical structure, it is obligated to implement international human rights law, of which it has committed widespread violations with detentions and enforced disappearances.
The report urged both the International Independent Investigation Commission and the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism to open investigations into these cases, and those in previous reports.
The report called for the United Nations to set up a special committee to monitor disappearances and forced detentions and reveal the fate of 95,000 disappeared persons in Syria, 87 percent of whom are held by the Syrian regime.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights issues lists of the most prominent daily violations and has released eight monthly statistical reports. It also issues a comprehensive annual report on all violations taking place in Syria.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
