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The Hague – Syrian Network for Human Rights:
Abdullah Hussein al-Akhras, a defector from the Syrian regime army, originally from Ghabagheb town in northern rural Daraa governorate, was arrested in September 2023 by regime forces at a checkpoint in Aleppo while trying to return to his hometown in Daraa governorate.
According to intelligence received by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) from people close to the victim, Abdullah, who was born in 1991, had been living as a refugee in Türkiye until he was forcibly deported to northwestern Syria in mid-2023. Soon afterwards, as he tried to make his way back to his hometown, regime forces arrested him at the aforementioned checkpoint in Aleppo. His family later learned that he was being held in the regime’s infamous Sednaya Military Prison in Rural Damascus governorate. He has been classified as forcibly disappeared ever since.
On August 5, 2024, Abdullah’s family received notification from a regime military official that he had died. His body was returned to his family at the Harasta Military Hospital in Harasta city in eastern Rural Damascus governorate on the same day. SNHR can confirm that Abdullah was in good health at the time of his arrest, indicating a strong probability that he had died due to torture and medical negligence in Sednaya Military Prison.
International law strictly prohibits torture and other forms of cruel, degrading, or inhumane punishment. The prohibition of torture is a customary rule that cannot be disputed or balanced against other rights or values, even in times of emergency. Violating this rule is a crime according to international criminal law. Those who issued the orders for or assisted in carrying out torture are criminally liable for their actions.
SNHR must stress that the forcible deportation and refoulment of Syrian refugees constitute a violation of customary international law. The governments carrying out such acts are legally responsible for any violations that those refugees may be subjected to at the hands of the Syrian regime; including but not limited to torture, killing, and enforced disappearance; this is, of course, in addition to the regime’s direct responsibility for these violations.
SNHR condemns all arrest and torture practices perpetrated by Syrian regime forces, more especially those inflicted on returning Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. We call for the immediate launch of independent investigations into all incidents of arrest and torture that have taken place, particularly this latest barbaric incident. We also call for all of those involved in such crimes to be held accountable, from the officials issuing the orders to the individuals who carried them out. The findings of these investigations and accountability processes must be made public to the Syrian people. All of those involved in arrest and torture practices over the years must be exposed and dismissed, while the survivors and victims’ families must be compensated for the grave physical, psychological and emotional trauma inflicted on them.