“Rights Monitor Syria” has documented the arrest of four Kurdish young men by a force affiliated with the General Security Service in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of Aleppo on July 26, 2026, before being taken to the Ashrafiyeh police station. This occurred in the absence of any official information regarding the reasons for their arrest or the legal basis for their detention, raising concerns over their fate and the due legal guarantees owed to them.
According to information obtained by the platform from local sources, the identity of one of the detainees has been verified as Bashar Hassan Osman, while the identities of the other three young men remain unknown up to the time of drafting this news report. Furthermore, no information is available regarding their actual locations of detention or whether they have been permitted to communicate with their families or obtain legal assistance.
The sources reported that the arrest was not carried out by an overt security patrol, but rather via a civilian vehicle—a silver Hyundai Santa Fe—under circumstances suggesting, according to the sources, the potential affiliation of the executing party with a security or intelligence apparatus. This heightens concerns regarding the transparency of the arrest procedures and respect for the legal guarantees afforded to detainees.
“Rights Monitor Syria” emphasizes that deprivation of liberty must be conducted in accordance with clear legal procedures, including informing detainees of the reasons for their arrest, enabling them to communicate with their families and lawyers, and presenting them before a competent judicial authority within statutory timeframes. Furthermore, detaining individuals in the absence of official information concerning their fate or locations of detention raises serious concerns about the potential risk of arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance.
This incident comes within the context of security developments witnessed in the city of Aleppo, where the Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods fell under the control of the Transitional Authority forces following a military operation that commenced on January 6, 2026, and concluded with the control of both neighborhoods on January 10, 2026, after clashes with local Kurdish forces.
During those military operations, “Rights Monitor Syria” documented grave violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law targeting Kurdish civilians in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood, based on audiovisual material and field information that was verified and published at the time.
“Rights Monitor Syria” stresses the necessity of immediately revealing the fate and detention locations of the detainees and ensuring they enjoy all their legal rights, including their right to communicate with their families and obtain legal assistance. It also calls for conducting any prosecutions or security measures strictly within the framework of the law and in compliance with international human rights standards, in a manner that prevents the recurrence of violations and promotes the rule of law and accountability for those responsible for any abuses.
