Returning Ibrahim Awwad, a Dissident Journalist Who Opposes the Syrian Regime, to the Regime Territory Will Lead to His Torture and Enforced Disappearance, Seriously Threatening His Life
Paris – Statement by the Syrian Network for Human Rights:
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, Jordanian authorities arrested Syrian journalist Ibrahim Awwad from his home, based on a warrant issued by the country’s general intelligence service, as well as confiscating his equipment. Although no warrant has been issued for his arrest by the Jordanian judicial authorities, he has been transferred to Al Azraq Camp for refugees, which he is not allowed to leave.
We have received information that the Jordanian authorities intend to forcibly return him to Syria, with the Syrian regime controlling all areas adjacent to the Jordanian-Syrian border, except for Al Tanf area, which is under the control of armed opposition factions supported by US-led International Coalition forces.
Ibrahim is from Mzayreeb town in the western suburbs of Daraa. At the end of September 2021, the Syrian regime regained control over the town according to the agreement concluded between representatives of the regime and dignitaries of the region under Russian auspices. Ibrahim, born in 1989, is married with two children. He participated in the popular movement against the Syrian regime as a reporter, then worked briefly as a war correspondent with the First Legion, an armed opposition faction, before seeking asylum in Jordan where he has lived for the past few years. In Jordan, he has worked as a journalist throughout his stay up to the moment of his arrest. In his journalism work, Ibrahim has appeared in many TV interviews, authored many reports, and reported for numerous media outlets. On his personal Twitter account, he also covered the most recent Syrian-Russian coalition military campaign on Daraa governorate, as well as monitoring and documenting the violations by these forces.
Based on all the above, his presence in Syrian territory, particularly in areas under the control of the Syrian regime, poses a serious threat to his life, especially when considering the Syrian regime’s savage retaliatory policy against its critics, dissidents and anyone opposing it by arbitrarily arresting and torturing them. Most dissidents detained by the Syrian regime are subsequently forcibly disappeared.