Maher Falhout and Sheikh Raed Al-Matni, both belonging to the Druze community, died on December 2, 2025, days after their arrest by the National Guard forces in Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria.
On Saturday evening, November 29, 2025, the city of Suwayda witnessed a security campaign carried out by the National Guard forces, which included controversial arrests. Video clips circulated showing Sheikh Raed Al-Matni being beaten and humiliated at the hands of the personnel who arrested him, in scenes described as degrading.
Local sources reported that the bodies of the two victims were transferred to hospitals in Suwayda on December 2, 2025.
For its part, the National Guard forces announced in a statement published on Sunday, November 30, 2025, the arrest of two of their members for committing an act contrary to military discipline and in violation of customs and traditions, during an operation to detain a number of persons whom it said were planning to carry out an act similar to what took place last July, related to forcibly bringing in “terrorist gangs” from Damascus by coercion and through organized planning, according to the wording of the statement.
