The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that the Syrian regime is “detaining” Amjad Youssef, one of the most prominent perpetrators of the Massacre in the al-Tadamon neighbourhood, which was revealed weeks ago by The Guardian.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights added in its report issued on Monday that the regime “still detains Amjad Youssef; the detention was not carried out in accordance with a judicial warrant, based on a specific charge”.
He was also not referred to the judiciary, and the regime has not released any information indicating his arrest, the network said.
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According to the report, Youssef was involved with many parties of the regime in these terrible crimes, and “there appears to be a fear that more people will be exposed.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights warned against the Syrian regime’s intention to “imprison Youssef for life or execute him after he confessed to his crimes.”
“If he had not been involved at the highest levels, the regime would not have arrested him,” it said, adding that the regime “protects the perpetrators of violations, and sometimes promotes them so that their fate is always organically linked to the regime’s fate. This means that defending the perpetrator becomes an essential part of defending themselves [the regime].”
Fadl Abdul Ghani, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, said that the Syrian regime’s arrest of the criminal Youssef confirms the regime’s involvement in Youssef’s war crimes. He is not unlikely to be imprisoned or even executed to cover up other criminals.
Abdul Ghani said in a statement to Sham Network that the arrest of Youssef came to cover up other names of the regime involved in the same crimes, because Youssef works within a military system, and does not act on his own. Abdul Ghani pointed out that his detention was carried out a few days after the publication of an investigation published by New Lines at the end of April 2022.
The director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights stated that the magazine’s investigation confirms the regime’s categorical involvement in the massacre. For this reason, the regime arrested Youssef, an officer in the Syrian security forces – specifically, the branch of area 227 of the Military Intelligence Division. This means that it is not unlikely that Youssef was liquidated inside the detention center.
The director pointed out in an interview with Sham Network that the purpose of the report of the Syrian Network for Human Rights on Monday – when Youssef was first arrested – is fear about the fate of 87,000 forcibly disappeared people. He stressed that the arrest came on the basis of the investigation that caused a great uproar, knowing that there are hundreds of criminals like Youssef who have not been detained.
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.
