At dawn, on October 25, 2018, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham/HTS arrested a member of the Free Hama Provincial Council of the Syrian Interim Government, affiliated with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, on unknown charges. The arrest followed raiding his house in the city of Murak, northern rural Hama, according to testimonies obtained by Syrians for Truth and Justice/STJ.
On October 29, 2018, a relative to detainee Ziad al-Naddaf, a member of the Free Hama Provincial Council, narrated to STJ the details of the incident:
“At dawn, 5:30 am, on October 29, 2018, face-covered elements of HTS, wearing military outfits and others colored black on board of a Kia car, stormed Ziad al-Naddaf’s house, located in the northern neighborhood of the city of Murak. They had an altercation, and there was shouting. This was when Ziad’s family stepped outside the house. His mother tried to talk to the elements to know the reasons for the arrest. They threatened the family and forced them into the house. And then, they took Ziad to an unidentified place.”
A photo of Ziad al-Naddaf, whom HTS has arrested from his house in the city of Murak, northern rural Hama on October 29, 2018.
For his part, Nafie al-Barazi, head of the Free Hama Provincial Council, told STJ on October 29, 2018, that the council could not think of a convincing reason for arresting al-Naddaf while they hold HTS responsible for his safety, demanding that it stop the arbitrary arrests it is conducting against individuals and staff members of civil entities.
According to al-Barazi, a month ago, HTS arrested al-Naddaf for about 20 days and released him, on the charges of “establishing a local council that is not affiliated to it, being in control of the area,” for al-Naddaf was the former head of the Murak City Local Council, affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government, under the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, and he resigned to become a member of the Free Hama Provincial Council.
HTS conducted several raids and arrests in different regions in Aleppo, Hama and Idlib, the majority of which targeted civilians, while neither the charges nor arrest conditions were known. Covering this, STJ published several reports. [1]
[1] “Two Children and Young Man Dead, Others Injured, in HTS Shooting in Kafr Halab”, Syrians for Truth and Justice, October 11, 2018, last visit: February 5, 2019. https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/861.
“Idlib: HTS Arrests Activists and a Civilian on Different Charges”, Syrians for Truth and Justice, October 11, 2018, last visit: February 5, 2019. https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/863.
“Idlib: HTS Arrests Worker of Ataa Relief, the Latter Suspends Work in Protest”, Syrians for Truth and Justice, October 18, 2018, last visit: February 5, 2019. https://stj-sy.org/ar/view/887.