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Paris – Statement by the Syrian Network for Human Rights:
Abdul Razzaq Tarrad al Abeid, from M’arzaf village in the suburbs of Hama governorate, worked in car sales and lived in Jalma village of Afrin city in the northern suburbs of Aleppo governorate. He was arrested by personnel from Failaq al Sham, a faction of the Syrian National Army, at midnight on February 24, 2022, from his home in Jalma village.
After Abdul Razzaq’s arrest, which was carried out without those detaining him showing any legal arrest warrant issued by a court, he was taken to a Syrian National Army detention center in Jandreis town of Afrin city. There, he should have faced trial in front of a just court; instead, he was tortured to death.
On February 25, 2022, the family of the victim, Abdul Razzaq, was informed by a member of Failaq al Sham of Abdul Razzaq’s death, with his body being released to the family at the detention center in Jandres town. Later the same day, the Syrian Network for Human Rights received images and video footage clearly showing that the victim had been subjected to brutal, lethal torture.
International law prohibits all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, with this legislation being a customary rule that cannot be compromised or balanced against other rights or values in any circumstances, even in a state of emergency, and violating the absolute prohibition on torture is a crime under international criminal law. Individuals responsible for ordering or assisting in torture bear criminal responsibility for such practices.
SNHR condemns all abduction and torture practices perpetrated by armed personnel in the Syrian National Army, which have increased dramatically since the start of the year, and calls for an immediate and independent investigation into all abductions and torture practices, especially this brutal incident. SNHR also emphasizes the need to hold all those involved to account, starting with the senior officials who issued the order to the perpetrators, and stresses that Syrian society must be informed of the results of this investigation and must be able to trust in the accountability process. Those individuals involved in torture and abductions must be exposed and dismissed, and all survivors and victims’ families must be compensated for the physical and psychological suffering they have been subjected to. The Syrian National Army must not follow in the footsteps of the Syrian regime and Russia in denying the occurrence of such atrocities or its forces’ responsibility for these crimes which has granted the perpetrators impunity so that no regime security personnel, officer, or Shabiha have been held accountable for their crimes for the past 10 years.