At least 141 Cases of Arbitrary Arrest and Detention Recorded in November 2025
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Damascus – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) revealed in its latest report released today that no fewer than 141 cases of arbitrary arrest/detention were documented in November.
The 20-pages 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 November 2025
According to the report, at least 69 cases of arbitrary arrest/detention were documented in November 2025, including four children and a woman, with 11 of these cases being carried out by Syrian government forces, and 58 cases of arbitrary detention by the Syrian Democratic Forces, including four children and one woman.
Geographical analysis revealed that Deir Ez-Zour Governorate recorded the highest number of arbitrary detentions, followed by Raqqa Governorate, and then Hasaka. The report highlighted a comparison between arbitrary detentions and releases, indicating that the number of arbitrary detentions carried out by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) significantly exceeded the number of releases. This is attributed to widespread arrest campaigns targeting civilians for forced conscription, as well as other arrests of civilians due to their pro-Syrian government stances.
The report detailed how, in November, elements of the Internal Security Forces of the Syrian Interior Ministry conducted raids and arrests targeting at least 72 individuals accused of committing serious human rights violations during the Assad regime’s rule, particularly in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, and Damascus. These operations included former military personnel and government employees and resulted in the confiscation of quantities of weapons and ammunition. 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 links to armed groups that launched attacks in March 2025 on security sites belonging to the Syrian government’s Ministries of Defense and Interior. These groups were linked to or affiliated with remnants of the former regime. The attacks, which took place in the governorates of Latakia, Tartus, and Hama, resulted in hundreds of extrajudicial killings.
Although these operations were carried out as part of security campaigns, it could not be confirmed 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 emphasizes the importance of adhering to legal procedures and the necessity of announcing the names of those detained and guaranteeing their legal rights.
The report also noted that SNHR documented 26 cases of release from various detention centers, most of whom were from the governorates of Suwayda, Homs and Rif Dimashq, who were detained in the context of accountability, and were released after the investigations were completed 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 160,123. 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.
- 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.
UN Security Council and international community
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Syrian 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 Syrian 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 Government
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Provide psychological and social support for those affected
- Establish specialist programs to rehabilitate torture and detention survivors, and provide support for victims’ families.
- 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.
- 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.
- Address misinformation campaigns
- Establish official platforms on social media to publish accurate news.
- Cooperate with independent media to ensure professional coverage of events.
- 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.
- Expedite settlement procedures for wanted individuals
- Implement a fair process to resolve the situation of wanted individuals and encourage them to reintegrate in society.
- Involve civil society in decision-making
- Enhance the role of the local community in decision-making mechanisms to ensure fair representation for all groups.
