SNHR’s Monthly Report on Arrests/Detentions in Syria

At least 658 Cases of Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Recorded in Syria in the First Half of 2025 including 72 in June

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Press Release:

Damascus – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed in its latest report released today that no fewer than 658 cases of arbitrary arrest/detention were documented in the first half of 2025, including 72 cases in June.

The 36-page report stresses the urgent need for the Syrian leadership to establish legal regulations that will put an end to the harrowing era of arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, and ensure respect for the basic human rights of individuals, in the wake of the major political and military changes brought about by the downfall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, with the regime having been succeeded by a transitional government.

As such, this report summarizes the record of arbitrary arrests/detentions, and releases of detainees from various detention centers during this transitional period following the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, with particular focus on the cases documented in the first half of 2025, including June 2025.

According to the report, 658 cases of arbitrary arrest/detention were documented in the first half of 2025, including 33 children and 16 women, of which 192 cases were carried out by the transitional government, including 1 child and 4 women. The report also documented 378 cases of arrest by the Syrian Democratic Forces, including 32 children and 5 women, and recorded 88 cases, including 7 women, by all armed opposition factions/the National Army.

Geographical analysis of the data showed that Aleppo Governorate recorded the highest number of arbitrary detentions, followed by Deir Ez-Zour Governorate and then Raqqa Governorate. The report highlighted a comparison between the number of detentions and releases, noting that the number of releases from detention centers affiliated with the transitional government in Syria exceeded the number of arbitrary detentions. This is mainly due to the transitional government’s release of hundreds of detainees from Homs Central Prison, who were detained for their association with Bashar al-Assad’s regime after its fall on December 8, 2024.

The report also documented at least 72 cases of arbitrary arrest/detention in June 2025, including four children, 31 of whom were detained by the transitional government and 41 by the Syrian Democratic Forces, including three children. Geographical analysis showed that the highest number of arbitrary arrests/detentions in June occurred in Aleppo governorate, followed by Deir Ez-Zour and then Raqqa. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented at least 334 releases, including 9 children and 8 women, from various detention centers in June 2025.

The report highlighted the most notable detentions carried out by the parties involved in their implementation against individuals in areas under their control in the first half of 2025, noting that members of the Internal Security Command of the Ministry of Interior of the transitional government carried out arrests/detentions targeting individuals accused of criticizing the current transitional government on social media, as well as arrests/detentions carried out by public security forces affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. detentions targeting individuals accused of criticizing the current transitional government on social media, and arrests/detentions carried out by members of the Public Security Directorate of the Ministry of Interior targeting civilians to pressure their relatives wanted by the security services to turn themselves in. These arrests were concentrated in Hama Governorate.

The report also documented arrests/detentions targeting civilians from the Kurdish community on the pretext of their dealings with the Syrian Democratic Forces. These arrests were concentrated in Aleppo Governorate. It also recorded arrests/detentions targeting a number of civilians while they were attempting to cross into Lebanon via unofficial border crossings between Lebanon and Syria in Homs Governorate, followed by their release after several hours of detention in detention centers in Damascus Governorate.

The report also noted that members of the Internal Security Command arrested/detained a number of local activists from the Suwayda Governorate as they passed through one of its checkpoints in the Homs Governorate while heading to areas in northeastern Syria controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces. They were released several hours later from detention centers in Idlib Governorate.

It also recorded arrests/detentions targeting individuals accused of insulting God or openly breaking their fast during Ramadan. These arrests were concentrated in the City of Hama.

Members of the Internal Security Command of the Ministry of Interior of the transitional government monitored detentions during a security campaign that targeted a number of villages in the countryside of Al-Qusayr in Homs Governorate, targeting individuals suspected of involvement in smuggling across the Syrian-Lebanese border. The campaign included raids and searches of civilian homes, during which violations of their property were recorded. Most of the detainees were released hours after their arrest.

It also recorded detentions in a number of Syrian Governorates affecting a number of civilians without clarifying the legal reasons behind their arrest. No information was available on the charges against them or their place of detention, which is a violation of the procedural guarantees provided by domestic law and international standards relating to human freedom and the right to a fair trial.

On the other hand, the report documented the Syrian Democratic Forces’ continued detention of civilians in the context of mass raids carried out under the pretext of pursuing ISIS cells. There were also cases of detention aimed at taking people to their training and recruitment camps. These operations were concentrated in areas under their control in northeastern Syria, particularly in the eastern and northern countryside of Deir Ez-Zour, the countryside of Raqqa Governorate, and a number of neighborhoods in the city of Raqqa. The report also documented arrests/detentions targeting civilians accused of collaborating with Arab tribal forces and the National Army and participating in Operation Deterrence of Aggression, which was launched on November 27, 2024.

In addition, the report documented arrests/detentions of civilians for removing Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) slogans and banners from some public places and raising the current Syrian flag (the flag of the Syrian revolution) during popular celebrations following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. These arrests were concentrated in the governorates of Hasaka and Raqqa, which are under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

The report also documented the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detaining civilians in dozens of villages in the northern and eastern countryside of Deir Ez-Zour and Raqqa governorates, as well as in a number of neighborhoods in Raqqa city, for expressing criticism of its policies in areas under its control. These operations also included the detention of relatives of dissidents from their ranks, with the aim of pressuring them to surrender. Cases of detention of persons injured during the raids were also documented, as they were arrested from inside medical facilities while receiving treatment.

The report also documented cases of physical assault against women during some raids, as well as the seizure of personal belongings belonging to the families of detainees, including cash, gold jewelry, and mobile phones.

There were also continued reports of children being detained with the aim of transferring them to training camps run by the Syrian Democratic Forces, without informing their families, preventing them from communicating with them, and without disclosing their fate, indicating a pattern of forced recruitment of children.

For their part, armed opposition factions/the National Army carried out arbitrary arrests/detentions and abductions, most of which were carried out collectively and targeted people coming from areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, including women. The report documented cases of arrest/detention carried out on ethnic grounds, concentrated in areas controlled by the National Army in Aleppo Governorate. These operations were carried out without judicial authorization or the involvement of the police, which is the body authorized to carry out arrests and detentions through the judiciary, and without clear charges being brought.

It also recorded arrests/detentions carried out by members of the National Army targeting civilians under the pretext of dealing with the Syrian Democratic Forces. These arrests were concentrated in a number of villages belonging to the city of Afrin in Aleppo governorate. It also monitored arrests/detentions carried out by members of the National Army targeting a number of displaced persons after they returned to their homes in areas under the control of the National Army forces. These arrests were concentrated in the city of Afrin.

The report also recorded arrests/detentions carried out by members of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade of the National Army, targeting a number of farmers to pressure them into paying the fees (royalties) imposed on them by members of the brigade for the olive trees they own. These arrests were concentrated in the village of Mirkan, which is part of the city of Afrin.

We note that most opposition factions and the National Army have gradually joined the Ministry of Defense in the transitional government during the previous period, during which we documented the factions carrying out detentions prior to their actual integration.

Releases

In terms of releases, the report documented the release of 993 people, including 11 women, from detention centers belonging to the transitional government in the first half of 2025. It also recorded the release of 287 people, including 12 children, from detention centers belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces. The report documented the release of approximately 41 people, including one woman, from detention centers belonging to armed opposition factions/the National Army.

According to the report, approximately 196 people, including eight women, were released from detention centers belonging to the transitional government in June. The Syrian Democratic Forces also released 138 people, including nine children, from their detention centers.

The report stated that members of the Internal Security Command of the Ministry of Interior of the transitional government carried out raids and detentions in the first half of 2025, affecting at least 587 people, including one woman, including 89 people in June who were accused of committing serious human rights violations during the Assad regime, particularly in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Damascus. These operations included former military personnel, government employees, and doctors who worked in military hospitals linked to the security services, during which large quantities of weapons and ammunition were seized. The detainees were transferred to central prisons in Homs, Hama, and Adra in Rif Dimashq.

In addition, SNHR documented the detention of individuals suspected of being affiliated with armed groups that carried out attacks in March 2025 on security sites belonging to the transitional government’s ministries of defense and interior. These groups are linked to remnants of the former regime or are considered to be affiliated with it. These operations were concentrated in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, and Hama, and the attacks resulted in hundreds of extrajudicial killings.

Although these operations were carried out as part of security campaigns, it was not possible to confirm whether they were conducted in accordance with legal arrest warrants issued by the public prosecutor or the competent judicial authorities. The Syrian Network for Human Rights stresses the importance of adhering to legal procedures and the need to announce the names of detainees and guarantee their legal rights.

The report also noted that the Syrian Network for Human Rights documented at least 375 cases of release from various detention centers in the first half of 2025, including 83 cases in June, most of whom were from the governorate of Rif Dimashq and Suwayda. They were detained in the context of accountability after investigations were completed and their involvement in crimes was not proven. Among them were people detained in connection with security incidents in the areas of Jaramana, Ashrafieh Sahnaya, the Damascus-Suwayda road, and a number of villages in the Suwayda governorate between April 29 and May 4, 2025. They were released after investigations concluded and their involvement in those events was not proven.

As the report further notes, SNHR’s data is viewed as a reputable principal source of information by many UN bodies, being used in numerous statements and resolutions, including the draft resolution on the human rights situation in Syria (A/C.3/78/L.43), passed by a vote on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, condemning the Assad regime’s continued serious violations of international law. This resolution also acknowledged that the documented number of people detained and forcibly disappeared in Syria during the regime’s rule exceeded 135,000. Relatedly, the resolution holds the deposed regime responsible for the systematic use of enforced disappearance, which, it notes, constitutes a crime against humanity.

In the end, the report outlines a number of conclusions and recommendations:

Conclusions

• Failure to comply with fair trial procedures: The data documented shows that many detentions have been carried out without judicial warrants or legal guarantees, which is an explicit violation of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that prohibits arbitrary arrests and affirms detainees’ right to know the cause of their detention and to appear before a court as soon as possible following their arrest.
• Violating the dignity of detainees and the prohibition of torture: The report documents physical and psychological abuses against detainees, including torture and degrading treatment, that explicitly contravene the 1984 Convention Against Torture, which compels all parties to take effective measures to prevent torture and to hold those who carry out torture accountable.
• More must be done to ensure the legal and organized release of detainees: While we have documented the release of some detainees, these processes currently lack any clear judicial procedures or transparent investigative processes, which raises concerns about arrests continuing outside the relevant legal frameworks, in violation of the principle of the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, as established in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• More must be done to protect victims’ rights and their families: The fact that enforced disappearance persists without the fate of forcibly disappeared persons being revealed or any official information about them being provided to their families is a violation of the 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which compels states and organizations to reveal detainees’ place of detention and to enable families to know their loved ones’ fate.
• Absence of accountability mechanisms and transitional justice: Despite the political changes in Syria, insufficient measures have been taken to date to ensure accountability for past violations or to achieve justice for the victims, reflecting an inadequate level of commitment to the requirements of transitional justice which necessitates establishing investigation and accountability mechanisms, in addition to ensuring that these violations do not recur in the future.
• Armed opposition factions/SNA have carried out arrest and torture practices against some residents in areas under their control.
• The SDF has committed violations of basic human rights, including torture and enforced disappearance even though it possesses a political structure, which means that it is also obligated to comply with international human rights law.

Recommendations

UN Security Council and international community

1. Refer crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and apply diplomatic pressure on government and international stakeholders, including the Russian government, to ensure the extradition of those responsible for crimes, such as Bashar Assad and his close aides, to the competent international courts for trial.
2. Freeze and seize the funds of the former regime

• Take legal action to freeze and confiscate the funds and assets of the former regime’s officials who were involved in violations, and use those resources to support transitional justice programs and compensate victims.

3. Support international efforts to reveal the fate of missing persons and achieve national reconciliation

• Secure the necessary resources to support the efforts of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic (IIMP) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), including training local teams on advanced search techniques to identify the missing.
• Fund programs to support national reconciliation, and provide psychological and social support for the families of forcibly disappeared persons.

UN Human Rights Council

• Continue to focus on the issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria and regularly highlight this issue in all annual meetings.
• Promote cooperation and coordination with active local human rights groups in Syria to support the efforts of documentation and accountability.

Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI)

• Launch in-depth investigations into all the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance cases included in this report and previous reports.
• Focus on the issue of forcibly disappeared persons and ensure the monitoring of the status of forcibly disappeared persons following the Assad regime’s downfall.
• Cooperate with human rights groups, including SNHR, to secure the necessary evidence.

International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM)

• Collect and analyze evidence on the crimes of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture included in this report.
• Support the exchange of information and expertise with Syrian organizations working in the field of documenting violations.

UN and international community

• Apply pressure on all parties to compel them to publish lists of detainees’ names and reveal the location of these prisoners’ detention according to a fixed timetable.
• Allow UN and international organizations, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to access detention centers to assess the humanitarian conditions there.
• Support organizations working on documenting violations and torture, and provide sustainable support for victim rehabilitation programs.

UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

• Increase the capacity of the team working on the issue of forcibly disappeared persons in Syria, especially in light of the high numbers and extensive scope of enforced disappearance cases in the country.
• Prepare periodic and more detailed reports on developments to maintain pressure on involved parties.

UN Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP)

• Look into all the cases included in this report and cooperate with SNHR to obtain the necessary data.
• Ask the transitional government to start working cooperatively with the IIMP in Syria to document the cases of the missing and take effective steps to ensure transparency and accountability.

Russian government

• Cooperate with the international community to extradite Bashar Assad and other fugitives implicated in war crimes to the custody of the transitional government or the competent international courts.
• Support the efforts aimed at promoting transitional justice in Syria to ensure fair reparation for the victims.

All parties to the conflict and the controlling forces

• Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances must be ended immediately; the fate of all detainees and forcibly disappeared persons must be revealed.
• Families must be allowed to visit detainees immediately, and the bodies of detainees who have died as a result of torture must be returned to their families.
• Ensure the unconditional release of all arbitrarily arrested detainees, especially those who have been imprisoned merely for exercising their political and civil rights.
• Allow international monitors, such as those with the COI and the ICRC, to access all detention centers with no restrictions.
• A UN-supervised impartial international committee must be formed to monitor and periodically assess the release of detainees
• End the policy of carrying out arrests without presenting legal warrants, and ensure that detainees appear before courts within a reasonably short period of time following their arrest.

Syrian transitional government

1. Cooperate with international organizations

• Issue official invitations to independent UN and international agencies, including:
• International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM)
• Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
• International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
• Enable these organizations to have unrestricted access to detention centers and crime scenes.

2. Protect evidence and crime locations

• Document burial sites and prisons and prevent any interference or evidence tampering.
• Adopt clear measures to preserve all articles of evidence and ensure their use in fair trials.

3. Promote transitional justice and accountability

• Ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and grant the ICC retroactive jurisdiction.
• Devise a comprehensive plan to hold those responsible for crimes accountable, compensate victims, and enhance transparency in investigations.

4. Reform Syria’s judicial and security system to prevent future violations

• Enact new legislation that ensures the autonomy of the judiciary and prohibits all forms of arbitrary arrest.
• Restructure the country’s security apparatus in accordance with international human rights standards.

5. Ensure the highest standards for detentions carried out within the context of accountability

• Activate judicial oversight over detentions carried out in the context of accountability to ensure compliance with the law and international standards.
• Publish periodic lists of detainees held in the context of accountability, along with the reasons for their detention, to ensure transparency.
• Develop an independent judicial review mechanism for detentions carried out within the context of accountability to prevent any violations.
• Ensure protection of the rights of detainees arrested in the context of accountability to access independent legal representation and fair trials.
• Emphasize that all accountability processes follow clear legal procedures while preventing any violations that may constitute human rights violations.
• Establish a human rights monitoring mechanism to ensure that the pursuit of accountability does not become a tool used to justify arbitrary detention.

6. Provide psychological and social support for those affected

• Establish specialist programs to rehabilitate torture and detention survivors, and provide support for victims’ families.

7. Enhance monitoring and accountability for the state security services

• Establish independent monitoring committees to ensure the non-recurrence of violations during security services’ operations.
• Hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable to ensure non-recurrence.

8. Improve communication with families and enhance transparency

• Hold regular meetings with local community representatives to clarify security policies and ensure that no groups are specifically targeted.
• Publish periodic reports on arrests and releases to ensure transparency.

9. Address misinformation campaigns

• Establish official platforms on social media to publish accurate news.
• Cooperate with independent media to ensure professional coverage of events.

10. Respect human rights during security operations

• Train security forces in how to treat detainees in a humane way.
• Commit to releasing any suspect who was part of the Assad regime if it’s been established that they were uninvolved in perpetrating any violations.

11. Expedite settlement procedures for wanted individuals

• Implement a fair process to resolve the situation of wanted individuals and encourage them to reintegrate in society.

12. Involve civil society in decision-making

• Enhance the role of the local community in decision-making mechanisms to ensure fair representation for all groups.

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