Between 12 and 19 January 2016, Alkarama and Human Rights Guardians documented three cases of enforced disappearances that occurred in Syria between November 2011 and October 2013. 34-year-old carpenter Ghassan Taibani disappeared after his arrest in Homs by members of the Air Force Intelligence in November 2011, while 40-year-old trader Mahmoud Al Rahal and 41-year-old agricultural engineer Ghiath Al Razouq both disappeared after their respective arrest in the Hama governorate by the Military Security in February and October 2013. In view of these facts, Alkarama submitted their cases to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary disappearances (WGEID), hoping that this UN mechanism for the protection of human rights will help shed light on the men's fates and whereabouts.
Ghassan Taibani
On 10 November 2011, members of the Air Force Intelligence from Bab Tuma speaking Alawi and Sunni dialect broke into Ghassan's house during an arrest raid and arrested him in front of his mother and wife. During the same operation, more than 500 individuals were arrested. Following his arrest, Ghassan's sister made efforts to locate him in Qaboun and inquired about his whereabouts at the military police, but to no avail.
Mahmoud Al Rahal
On 16 February 2013, Al Rahal was driving on the road between Hamma and Muhradah in west Syria with a friend, Mahmoud Khalil, when they were stopped by members of the military security dressed in military and civilian clothes. The latter arrested him and his friend without presenting a warrant and brought them to an unknown location. Al Rahal has not been seen after his arrest, but his family was informally told by a former detainee that he was detained at Branch 291. His family appointed a lawyer to try to locate Al Rahal, but could not obtain any official information.
Ghiath Al Razouq
On 30 October 2013, while returning from his work at the Department of Agriculture in Hama, Al Razouq was stopped at the checkpoint in Jabal Zayn al-Abidin north of Hama by uniformed members of the military security forces who spoke with an Alawite accent. The men dragged Al Razouq out of his car, arrested him and drove him to an unknown location, while his car was seized. Learning of his arrest, his family inquired about Al Razouq's whereabouts in several security branches, but was not able to obtain any information on his fate.
After having been contacted by the victims' families, Alkarama and Human Rights Guardians seized the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary disappearances (WGEID), requesting this UN special procedure for the protection and promotion of human rights to call upon the Syrian authorities to immediately release Ghassan, Al Rahal and Al Razouq or, at the very least, to put them under the protection of the law by disclosing their whereabouts and allowing their families to visit them without restriction.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).