Alkarama shares the joy of the families of those forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily detained in Syria as they reunite with their loved ones after years of disappearance and terror under the oppressive familial regime that has gripped the Syrian people for nearly 54 years.
Lawyer Rachid Mesli, Director of Alkarama, stated: "I hope that closing the chapter of the tyrannical dictatorship in Syria will open a new page in the country, where the people regain their political and civil freedoms and rights and are finally governed by a system that compensates for years of deprivation, repression, and terror."
Earlier today, Sunday 8 December 2024, armed opposition forces announced the liberation of all detainees from the notorious Sednaya Prison. Previously, they had also freed many political prisoners in various provinces they liberated, including Aleppo, Hama, and Homs—the latter being the stronghold of the peaceful uprising against the regime 13 years ago.
The Syrian people have endured more than a decade of war, repression, and displacement at the hands of the ruling regime. Both Russia and Iran have participated in horrific massacres against Syrian civilians through airstrikes and militias.
Millions of Syrians were forced to seek refuge worldwide, fleeing the regime's barrel bombs, chemical weapons, arbitrary arrests, torture, and other methods of violence and intimidation. Many perished at sea with their children and women during their perilous journeys on "death boats."
Over recent days, Alkarama has closely followed developments in Syria and documented numerous testimonies from survivors of Bashar al-Assad's prisons, who suffered arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and horrific torture. Alkarama stresses the importance of achieving justice, reparation, and ensuring that all those involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity are held accountable, regardless of any potential political settlements.
Alkarama’s activism
Alkarama has been actively documenting human rights violations in Syria over the years, submitting hundreds of individual complaints to UN special procedures and contributing to in-depth reports before treaty bodies.
Among numerous cases, the fate of Syrian activist Tal al-Mallohi remains unknown. Alkarama has received information indicating that she was held in the Adra Central Prison near Damascus, recently liberated by armed opposition forces. On February 17, 2017, Alkarama sent a communication to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the young blogger Tal al-Mallohi, arbitrarily detained since December 27, 2009, and unjustly sentenced on February 14, 2011. Alkarama also submitted her case to the Special Rapporteur on Torture. She was arrested for exercising her freedom of expression.
Another case Alkarama worked on is that of Jamil Qassoum al-Nimr, former head of general intelligence in Jisr al-Shughur, Idlib Governorate. His fate remains unknown to this day. He was arrested in June 2011 for defying orders to use live bullets against peaceful protesters and was held in the Sednaya Military Prison. He suddenly disappeared in December 2012 after his wife’s last visit when prison authorities refused to provide information about his fate or whereabouts.
Alkarama and the Human Rights Guardians Organisation submitted his case to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), expressing concern about his fate and requesting Syrian authorities to disclose his location and inform his family.