Arrests and secret prisons in Syria
Chilling information is circulating on Syrian social networking sites about the new government of Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the leader of the transition in Syria, who is accused of running secret prisons and of having detained and imprisoned thousands of opponents without trial. In fact, it goes as far as accusing Al-Sharaa himself of genocide and persecution of minorities.
In a publication on the X network entitled ‘There is no more urgent matter than nine thousand detainees!’, it is stated that ‘A video by the journalist Raeda Waqaf helped him to free his brother, General Qusay Waqaf... We, the families of the 9,000 detainees in the prisons of Harem, Idlib, Hama, Adra, Homs and Aleppo, have been demanding justice for our children for two months. We want justice!’.
The account, published by a profile named ‘Secular Syria’, adds: ‘Their hands were not stained with blood, and most of them served in the eastern regions of Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Hasakah, where there were no armed clashes!’.
أخوها الدكتور المهندس اللواء صاحب الشرف والأخلاص والدين 😅😅😅😅
— فاخر (@giyddnohxhfghjf) February 2, 2025
كيف كلهم زبطوا مع بعض ما بعرف #سوريا_الان #أحمد_الشرع https://t.co/MDNMjIjaZE
From this profile, the Al-Sharaa government is accused of arresting thousands of innocent people and imprisoning them, and demands are made to ‘know the fate of 9,000 detainees, and their freedom’.
The publication, written in Arabic and English, was accompanied by hashtags such as ‘#No_to_demographic_change’, ‘#Displacement_is_a_crime’, ‘#Protection_of_minorities’, ‘#New_Syria_ISIS_Damascus’ and ‘#Coast_Syria’.
This post urged the community and international organisations to ‘examine and investigate on the ground in Syria’, considering that ‘Al-Julani [the former title of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa]) and his mercenaries are carrying out a new holocaust and genocide against minorities... Minorities need international protection’.
As announced on her own social networking profiles, Syrian broadcaster Raeda Waqaf met her missing brother a day after asking President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to reveal his fate.
The famous presenter, known for her previous support for the Bashar Al-Assad regime, wrote on her Facebook account: ‘We thank Almighty God for your presence among us, my dear and beloved brother, who is innocent of all accusations and slander’.
Major General Qusay Waqaf, brother of radio presenter Raeda, is a prominent Syrian military figure during the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. He comes from the rural area of Tartus and held important positions in the Syrian security services, where he played a role in security operations during the conflict in Syria. Waqaf took command of the Military Security Division in the Hama Governorate and wielded great influence in the region.
The arrest of General Qusay Waqaf has caused controversy and raised questions after his mysterious disappearance in recent months. The military man was detained by an unknown person and no official announcement was made of the charges against him or his place of detention, causing anxiety among his family and loved ones.
The release of Major General Qusay Waqaf, the only one that has been recorded, as well as his arrest without charge or knowledge of his place of detention, opens the door to questions about possible rights violations being committed by the new Syrian administration that overthrew Bashar's regime against opponents or those who were part of the security services and the administrative apparatus during the government of Bashar Al-Assad.
The swift handling of the case of Raeda Waqf and her brother also constitutes proof that the Al-Sharaa government is adopting the same favouritism and nepotism of which the previous regime is accused, by releasing certain detainees and not others, in contradiction to the promises made by Al-Sharaa himself and his Foreign Minister, Asaad Al-Shibani, of achieving justice for all Syrians.
