Rights Monitor Syria expresses its severe condemnation and deep concern regarding the death of 30-year-old Ali Samer Al-Qouzi, a member of the Alawite community, inside Adra Central Prison in Damascus on September 4, 2026, after months of detention. This comes amid reports indicating that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment, and was arbitrarily detained without being brought—according to available data—before an independent judicial authority to review the legality of his detention.
The platform considers that a death occurring within a place of detention, amidst allegations of torture and the absence of judicial guarantees, constitutes an extremely grave incident requiring an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation. Such an inquiry must determine the circumstances of the death, its medical and legal causes, and the entities and individuals responsible for it. The platform further emphasizes that the responsibility of the detaining authorities does not lapse merely upon the occurrence of death; rather, it mandates an investigation into the conditions of detention, the methods of treatment to which the detainee was subjected, the extent to which he received necessary medical care, and the establishment of individual and command responsibility in accordance with the law.
Rights Monitor Syria recalls that the rights to life, physical integrity, and human dignity, along with the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, are fundamental non-derogable rights. Furthermore, the detention of any individual does not justify subjecting them to torture or ill-treatment, nor does it relieve the authorities in charge of detention facilities from their duty to protect the lives and integrity of detainees, provide them with medical care, and guarantee their right to challenge the legality of their detention before a competent and independent judicial authority.
The incident involving Ali Al-Qouzi raises additional concerns in light of a series of events documented by the platform regarding deaths and the health deterioration of detainees following their detention by entities affiliated with the Syrian Interim Authority, accompanied in some cases by information alleging beatings, torture, or ill-treatment.
On August 14, 2026, 24-year-old Abdul Salam Abdul Hakim Akko (born in 2002) was released after approximately one year of detention in Hama Central Prison. Reports indicate that he was released in a severely deteriorated physical and health condition, after which his state worsened, leading to his demise shortly thereafter. He had been arrested during a store raid on suspicions related to drug trafficking; however, circulating information referenced a subsequent medical report indicating no traces of drug consumption, thereby requiring verification of the legal basis for his arrest and the conditions of his detention.
Additionally, the platform documented the death of Louai Mohammad Zourouf inside a detention facility of the Syrian Interim Authority on August 22, 2026, approximately three months after his arrest in Damascus following reports of his volunteering with the “National Defence Forces.” Local sources reported the appearance of suspected marks of torture on his body upon delivery to his family, an incident that necessitates an independent investigation to establish the causes of death and identify those responsible.
In another incident, young man Mohammad Hossam Ghmeira passed away on August 16, 2026, following an acute deterioration of his health condition, after being detained at the Al-Haffah District Directorate in the Latakia countryside and released approximately three days later in critical condition. Information emerged indicating he was subjected to beatings during detention, coinciding with a pre-existing health condition, which warrants an inquiry into whether he received appropriate medical care and was spared ill-treatment.
Rights Monitor Syria stresses that the recurrence of these incidents, if proven, cannot be treated as isolated or individual events. Instead, it necessitates a comprehensive review of detention conditions, oversight mechanisms governing detention facilities and prisons, and the compliance of controlling entities with relevant rules of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, particularly rules safeguarding persons deprived of their liberty.
Accordingly, Rights Monitor Syria Demands the Following:
Immediate and Independent Investigation: Launch an immediate, independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the death of Ali Samer Al-Qouzi and all other cases of death or health deterioration occurring inside places of detention, conducted independently of entities and individuals suspected of involvement or under their authority.
Medical and Legal Cause Determination: Determine the medical and legal cause of death through an independent forensic examination, and preserve all evidence, medical records, and detention/interrogation logs to ensure they are not tampered with or destroyed.
Establishment of Accountability: Establish individual and command responsibility for any proven torture, ill-treatment, medical neglect, or arbitrary detention, holding all responsible parties accountable, including those who issued orders, executed them, or had knowledge of them and failed to take necessary measures to prevent them or punish the perpetrators.
Cessation of Abuse and Effective Oversight: Cease all forms of torture and ill-treatment within detention facilities, ensure prisons and detention centers are subjected to independent and effective oversight, and grant specialized human rights and monitoring bodies access to them.
Judicial Guarantees: Guarantee the right of every detainee to be informed of the reasons for their arrest, to appear before an independent judicial authority within a reasonable statutory timeframe, to receive a fair trial with legal defense guarantees, and not to be held in detention outside judicial oversight.
Adequate Medical Care: Ensure detainees receive appropriate and timely medical care, and investigate any death, injury, or health deterioration occurring during detention as an event requiring accountability.
Release or Fair Trial: Release all arbitrarily detained persons or, where a genuine legal basis for detention exists, refer them to an independent judiciary pursuant to fair and transparent procedures.
Transparency and Redress: Fully and transparently inform victims’ families of the investigation results, guaranteeing their right to know the truth and to access legal remedies and compensation in accordance with relevant legal standards.
Rights Monitor Syria holds the authorities responsible for managing places of detention—along with anyone proven to have had knowledge of torture, ill-treatment, or medical neglect and failed to take necessary measures to prevent and investigate them—legally accountable for their actions or omissions, each according to their role and responsibility.
The platform affirms that protecting the lives of persons deprived of their liberty is not an optional obligation; any authority managing prisons and centers of detention bears a special legal duty to preserve the lives, dignity, and integrity of detainees. Impunity for grave violations can never serve as the foundation for building justice institutions or a state that respects human rights.
