Rights Group Records 11 Cases Of Arbitrary Arrests, Torture By Terrorists In Syria's Idlib

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published January 28, 2019 | 02:50 PM

Members of Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of radical jihadists linked to al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia), have arbitrarily arrested and tortured almost a dozen of residents of the Syrian city of Idlib over the past few months, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2019) Members of Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of radical jihadists linked to al-Qaeda terrorist group (banned in Russia), have arbitrarily arrested and tortured almost a dozen of residents of the Syrian city of Idlib over the past few months, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Monday.

"Human Rights Watch documented 11 cases in which the group, Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham, detained Idlib residents, apparently because of their peaceful work documenting abuses or protesting the group's rule. Six of those detained were apparently tortured," the watchdog said in a statement, published on its official website.

According to the watchdog, seven of the people have been since liberated and four others are believed to be still held by the terrorists. The former detainees told the rights group that they had been taken to detention facilities, where the terrorists interrogated the men and tortured six of them, including a 16 year-old boy.

"Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham should immediately release all unlawfully held prisoners and stop arbitrarily arresting people and torturing and mistreating detainees," the group added.

Last October, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that the terrorist group had arrested or abducted at least 184 people in the suburbs of the Idlib province between September and October 2018.

Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham is widely regarded to be dominating the northwestern province of Idlib, which remains the last stronghold of terrorist groups operating in Syria. According to the watchdog, Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham further strengthened its grip on Idlib, taking control of other nearby territories, after anti-government forces concluded a ceasefire on January 10.