Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham arrested Ali Haj Dibo the head of the local council in Tal Hadya town in Aleppo countryside on December 1, 2018, and released him after eight days during which he was subjected to interrogation, according to a testimony obtained by STJ.
The released Ali Haj Dibo gave STJ a detailed account of the incident:
"On Saturday, December 1, 2018, two HTS young men agents came to my house, and handed me a subpoena which required me to go to one of the HTS checkpoints on the international highway on Sunday, 10 a.m. Indeed, I was there on time and stayed until evening when they drove me to a prison I didn’t know where exactly, maybe in Idlib, I stayed there till Wednesday and was subjected to a simple investigation for only half an hour. The investigator asked me if I had had any intentions to form a national army or had and related collaborations. The investigation was ended upon my denial to this charge, then I was taken back to the same prison where I stayed till Sunday evening, 9 December 2018, and released on the same day.", said Ali.
Haj Dibo said that the main charge was "the formation of a national army", and he added that he wasn't subjected to any verbal or physical abuse during the detention period.
HTS has already arrested many local officials, relief workers, university students and lecturers, media and human rights activists in Aleppo, Idlib and Hama. Some were released while the others' fate is still unknown[1].
[1] Two children and a guy killed, and others injured by HTS bullets. STJ, October 11, 2018; https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/861 , (last edit: October 17, 2018).
Idlib: HTS arrests activists and a civilian for various charges, STJ, October 11, 2018; https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/863, (last edit: October 17, 2018).
Idlib: HTS arrests a relief worker in Jom'iyat Ataa' and the organization suspends its work in response, STJ, October 18, 2018; https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/887, (last edit: October 29, 2018).