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The Hague – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR)
Bakr Qasim, from Ma’ar Shoreen in eastern rural Idlib governorate, is a media worker who‘s worked with both Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency and Agence France-Presse (AFP). On August 26, 2024, Bakr, who was born in 1995, was arrested/detained along with this wife, who’s also a media worker, by the Syrian National Army’s (SNA) Military Police, who intercepted the couple at the Douar Halab ‘Aleppo Roundabout’ area in western al-Bab city in eastern rural Aleppo governorate, as they were returning home from providing media coverage of the al-Bab Trade Exhibition in al-Bab city.
Bakr Qasim and his wife were detained without any judicial warrant being presented, and taken to an SNA detention center in al-Bab city. Bakr’s wife was released about an hour later, as we recorded at the time.
According to intelligence obtained by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) from local activists in al-Bab city, Bakr Qasim was taken from the Military Police’s headquarters in the city to a detention center in the Houar Kellis subdistrict of rural Aleppo governorate. The detention center in question is affiliated with the Turkish intelligence service and Turkish forces who operate in the area. SNHR has also learned that Bakr was taken there after being escorted back to his home, which was inspected, while Bakr’s media equipment had been seized.
The SNA follows a similar approach to that of the Syrian regime in its detention operations, with no arrest warrants being presented to those being detained. Rather, arrests are carried out by abducting the individuals in question in the street, in markets, and public places, or in raids on media offices and civilian events, again without any judicial warrants being presented. Bakr Qasim has also been denied any opportunity to contact his family or hire a lawyer. We fear he may be tortured and go on to become another enforced disappearance case with 85 percent of all detainees falling into this category.
SNHR condemns the detention of Bakr Qasim, and calls for his immediate release, and for the provision of moral and material compensation for the trauma and harm he has suffered. We also reiterate our condemnation of all violations against media workers, and call for ensuring their protection as required under international humanitarian law, more especially given the vital nature of their work in uncovering truths and facts wherever they work, and in shedding light on violations against civilians. The failure of the armed opposition/SNA to establish a safe environment for independent media work in areas under their control is demonstrated by the numerous attacks on media workers that have not been followed by any serious investigations, nor have the findings of any investigations into these attacks been made available to the public.