Statement by the Violations Documentation Center
The Violations Documentation Center strongly condemns the policy of delay and deliberate stalling adopted by the Syrian transitional government regarding the ملف detainees, and its continued detention of hundreds of abducted Kurds in its prisons, including civilians as well as security and military personnel. These practices constitute a grave violation of international laws and conventions.
The ongoing detention of these individuals, despite repeated official promises of their release, clearly demonstrates the authorities’ intentional use of this الملف as a tool of political leverage and blackmail, as well as a means of manipulating the emotions of victims’ families. Such conduct is inhumane and amounts to serious human rights violations.
The Center affirms that this approach represents a blatant breach of international humanitarian law, particularly the prohibition of arbitrary detention and the obligation to disclose the fate and whereabouts of detainees and guarantee their fundamental rights. This intransigence also undermines any efforts to build trust or achieve meaningful political stability, while further fueling public anger in Kurdish regions.
In this context, we express our full solidarity with the families of the abducted, who continue to hold daily protests and sit-ins across Kurdish cities, demanding the truth about their loved ones and their immediate release.
Accordingly, the Violations Documentation Center calls for:
* The immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and abducted persons.
* Full disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of all detainees, and ensuring their communication with their families.
* An end to the use of detainees as instruments of political bargaining.
* Granting independent international bodies access to detention facilities to document conditions and monitor compliance.
* Holding those responsible for these violations accountable under international law.
The continuation of this situation carries serious humanitarian and political consequences and places the Syrian transitional government before its legal and moral responsibilities. Silence or inaction in the face of these violations will only deepen the crisis and prolong the suffering of hundreds of families.
