At least 147 Cases of Arbitrary Arrests Documented in Syria in May 2020, including 10 Children and 4 Women

The Syrian Regime Is Responsible for Nearly 44% of Arrests in May, Threatening the Lives of Thousands of Detainees Due to the Coronavirus

ARK News.. SNHR announced in its report released yesterday that it documented at least 147 cases of arbitrary arrests in May 2020 despite the recent amnesty decree, with the report noting that the Syrian regime is responsible for nearly 44% of arrests in May, threatening the lives of thousands of detainees due to the coronavirus.

Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances have been amongst the most common and widespread violations since the early days of the popular uprising for democracy in Syria in March 2011. As this report states, these violations, which have affected hundreds of thousands of Syrians, are carried out by the Syrian security services, as well as their affiliated militias, as part of a deliberate and planned strategy, often in a sweeping indiscriminate manner, in order to instill terror and fear into the largest possible number of Syrian people. Approximately eight months after the start of the popular uprising, other parties began to emerge in Syria, carrying out similar arrests and kidnappings, though the regime has remained by far the largest offender.

The report also documents arbitrary arrests that were subsequently categorized as enforced disappearances. A number of criteria must be met before SNHR will classify a case as an enforced disappearance: the individual must have been detained for at least 20 days without his or her family being able to obtain any information from the relevant authorities about their status or location, with those responsible for the disappearance denying any knowledge of the individual’s arrest or whereabouts.

The report documents at least 147 cases of arbitrary arrests in May 2020, including 10 children and four women (adult female), 95 of which have subsequently been categorized as cases of enforced disappearance, all at the hands of the perpetrator parties to the conflict in Syria, with 64 of these carried out at the hands of Syrian Regime forces, including seven children and one woman. It also documents 41 cases of arbitrary arrests at the hands of Syrian Democratic Forces, including three children.

The report documents 33 cases of arbitrary arrests, including two women, at the hands of factions of the Armed Opposition. In addition, nine cases of arbitrary arrests were recorded at the hands of Hay’at Tahrir al Sham, including one woman.

The report also shows the distribution of cases of arbitrary arrests in May by governorate, with Deir Ez-Zour seeing the largest number of arrests documented during this period, followed by the governorates of Raqqa, then Aleppo.

The report stresses that the Syrian regime has not fulfilled any of its obligations in any of the international treaties and conventions it has ratified, most particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It has also violated several articles of the Syrian Constitution itself, with thousands of detainees detained without any arrest warrant for many years, without charges, and prevented from appointing a lawyer and from receiving family visits. 65.08 percent of all detentions documented have subsequently been categorized as enforced disappearance cases, with detainees’ families being denied any information on their loved ones’ whereabouts, while anyone making enquiries about the detainees faces the risk of being arrested themselves for doing so.

The report states that Hay’at Tahrir al Sham imposes absolute authority over the large areas it controls and the residents there. The group which has a political entity, and has developed a highly hierarchical structure, is therefore obliged to implement the provisions of international human rights law. Hay’at Tahrir al Sham has committed widespread violations through arrests and enforced disappearances.

The report also states that Syrian Democratic Forces have violated many basic rights and practiced numerous violations including torture and enforced disappearance. They have also a political entity with a largely hierarchical structure and are, therefore, also obliged to implement the provisions of international human rights law.

The report further notes that factions of the Armed Opposition have also carried out arrests and torture against a number of residents in areas under their control.

The report calls on the Security Council to follow through in the implementation of Resolution 2042, adopted on April 14, 2012, Resolution 2043, adopted on April 21, 2012, and Resolution 2139, adopted on February 22, 2014, all of which demand the immediate cessation of the crime of enforced disappearance.

Additionally, the report calls on the Human Rights Council to follow up on the issue of detainees and forcibly-disappeared persons in Syria, to raise this subject in all of the council’s annual meetings, and to coordinate with the active local human rights groups in Syria.

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