The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

The military police blackmail young men in Douma, paying in exchange of not taking them to the compulsory and reserve services

Rif Dimashq Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory learned that patrols of the military police of the regime forces entered Douma city in the past few days, and spreading in the middle of the city searching for wanted people for the conscription and reserve service, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the military police patrols positioned in the market at the middle of Douma, which is usually crowded with young people who want to work or shop, and they began a random stop operations against tens of people of the city, in search of people who are wanted to the conscription, where those who were stopped were subjected to extortion by members from the military police, after they were proven to be wanted for the compulsory or reserve service, and that they are deserted of both services, where the military police members requested money between 5000 to 10000 SYP per person in exchange for not arresting them and taking them to serve in regime’s army.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 8th of July 2019 that in conjunction with the continuous arrest operations against those who carried out “reconciliation and settlements” in the Eastern Ghouta by regime’s security branches, the Syrian Observatory for Rights learned that the regime forces released a batch of detainees of who were in prisons of its security branches, where the Syrian Observatory’s local sources confirmed that at least 5 persons of Rif Dimashq were released from regime’s prisons and detention centers, including those who were arrested in 2011 during the Salamiyah demonstrations, and some of them were arrested in Damascus in previous years, the exit of this new batch of detainees come after their relatives moved their stagnant files in the courts of the regime, and after paying large sums of money to release them, and in another context, the Syrian Observatory learned that the people of Harasta in the Eastern Ghouta received in the past days 2 bodies of detainees, who died under torture within regime’s detentions.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 7th of July 2019 that the Syrian Observatory learned that the military checkpoints of the regime and the security branches; are conducting security checks on the people who are getting out of the Eastern Ghouta towards Damascus, by imposing new security approvals on the civilians in order to allows them to leave, local sources from inside the Eastern Ghouta confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the regime forces reopened the road of Ain Tarma which leads to Damascus after 7 years of closing it, but the checkpoints are carrying out an unprecedented security tightening on the people getting out of the area, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the checkpoints requested again a security permission in order to allow the civilians to leave, and each citizen over 6 years of age is required when crossing the road of Ain Tarma to obtain a written approval signed by a regime officer of the Republican Guard, and in the event of any passenger in the bus has not got the approval; the convoy is fully returned to the Ghouta, which makes it difficult to move between the capital Damascus and cities and towns of the Eastern Ghouta, it is worth mentioning that the regime forces and their security branches made tight security procedures for those wishing to exit from Ghouta to Damascus and required them to state the reason for their movement, following their control of the area in April last year.

The Syrian Observatory published on the 24th of June 2019 that the regime forces refused to settle the situations of 250 persons from the villages and towns of Wadi Barada, more than 2 years after they got settlement cards after the regime force and gunmen loyal to them had imposed their control over the villages and towns of Wadi Barada, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the security branches of the regime forces sent lists including nearly 250 names of the people of Wadi Barada area in the western Rif Dimashq, to the Mukhtars of the towns in sequent batches in the recent period, through which they asked them to turn to the security branches, where the largest portion of the names of the people that the regime refused to settle their situations, was distributed in the villages of Basima, Deir Maqran and Kafr Al-Zayt within the areas of Wadi Barada north-west of the capital Damascus, local sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the settlement deals’ refusal came for several reasons, the most important of which were the non-handing over of weapons during striking the reconciliation deals, in addition to personal accusations and lawsuits against former members of the opposition, on charge of the deliberate killing of members of the regime forces in these areas during the factions’ control over the villages of Wadi Barada in Rif Dimashq, and the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them managed to impose their control over the entire cities and towns of Wadi Barada area in the western Rif Dimashq in early 2017, after a “reconciliation” deal has been struck between the opposition and the regime led to the evacuation of those who refused the settlement, to the areas of the Syrian north, and the SOHR published today, the 24th of June 2019, that it learned from several reliable sources that the Syrian regime’s security services transferred more detainees from the Eastern Ghouta to Sednaya military prison in the past few days, after finishing the investigation with them, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: more than 70 detainees within the al-Khatib branch of the State Security in the capital Damascus and the Air Force Intelligence branch in Harasta, were transferred to Sednaya detention center, where most of the detainees are from areas of Hamouriyah, Douma, Saqba, Jesrin, KafrBatna, and al-Maliha, of who formerly used to be among the ranks of the rebel factions during their control of Eastern Ghouta, and participated in clashes against the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them then decided to carry out “settlements and reconciliation” after refusing to be displaced, in addition to the presence of civilians among the detainees, they were arrested on the backdrop of various charges, including “terrorist financing and contacting an outside bodies”, and they were transferred to Sednaya prison with the militaries, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 30th of April 2019 that reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the regime’s intelligence services have transferred tens of detainees of the people of the Eastern Ghouta to Sednaya Military Prison, after interrogation had been accomplished in the security branches after arresting them on various charges after the regime forces had imposed their control over the area and after the exit of the military factions from the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus and evacuating them to the Syrian North, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the detainees who were taken to Sednaya Prison, were detained in Al-Khateeb branch in the capital Damascus, and the Air Force Intelligence’s branch in Harasta city, and both branches are affiliated to the Air Force Intelligence, where the number of detainees exceeded 100, most of them were former fighters in the rebel and Islamic factions which fought against the regime forces in the Eastern Ghouta, and they were arrested although they struck “reconciliation and settlement deals” and received guarantees that they would not be targeted by the security branches, where they had been transferred to Sednaya after being questioned in the security branches and after proving the charges directed to them of engaging in clashes against the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them in the past years during the opposition factions’ control over the Eastern Ghouta.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 27th of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from local sources, that the security services of the regime forces have arrested 3 citizen women with their children who are from Al-Dumayr city east of the capital Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; the arrest took place at the checkpoint of “Al-Baz Station” in Adra city in the north-east of the capital Damascus, while the women were returning from the Syrian North to their town, and the checkpoint is affiliated to the Air Force Intelligence, where the women were taken to “Al-Maham Branch” in Damascus, the children were also arrested and sent later via a mediator to Al-Dumayr city while the women were maintained in the detention center, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 23rd of April 2019, that regime’s security intelligence continue their raid and arrest operation in the Eastern Ghouta, where the Syrian Observatory learned from several reliable sources that the security services of regime’s intelligence arrested 7 women of who work in the field of “Islamic Dawa” (calling to Islam, like preachers do) in Douma city northeast of Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory: the arrests took place in different times over the past few days and weeks, where prosecuting the females preachers was not confined to arresting them, but extended to become an extortion process for some of them, where intersected sources confirmed that one of the released female preachers of the seven arrested females, was arrested at “al-Khatib branch” in the capital Damascus, and she was investigated about her preaching-related activities in giving lessons about the Islamic religion, and her relationship with the military factions which used to exist in the Eastern Ghouta, the sources added that officers in the branch asked her to pay an amount of money to close her file in the branch and not to call her again for investigation, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 21st of April 2019, that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from intersected sources that the intelligence services of the regime forces, carried out raids and arrested people in al-Tal city north of the capital Damascus, where the branch of the Air Force Intelligence raided specific houses in the city during the last few days, and arrested a citizen and his wife, in addition to 3 other youths from the city, and they were taken to an unknown destination until the moment, and no information about the reasons for the arrest until now, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 19th of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned from several reliable sources, that the intelligence services of the regime forces carried out this week massive raids and arrested tens of people in “al-Dumayr” city northeast of the capital Damascus, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory, the military security branch raided tens of houses and arrested about 40 youths of who “defected from the regime forces” previously and subsequently carried out settlements and reconciliations in the past years, and they were taken to an unknown destination until the moment, the sources added to the Syrian Observatory that the military security did not notify the detainees in advance in order to join the ranks of the “Army of the Homeland”, and in the same context, members of one of the military checkpoints of the regime forces in the area between al-Dumayr city and the capital Damascus arrested in the past week 3 citizen women of al-Dumayr; as they tried to go towards the capital Damascus on charges of “their husbands belong to the Islamic State”.

And the Syrian Observatory published on the 12th of April 2019, that regime’s authorities issued new lists of names; for precautionary-seizing movable and immovable property of hundreds of people, of the activists of the peaceful revolutionary movement and of those who fought against the regime forces in the Eastern Ghouta, perhaps most notably of whom is the commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Essam al-Buwaydhani), and all members of his family in the Eastern Ghouta, and the Syrian Observatory obtained information that this seizing affected several members of local councils, their wives, media activists, some workers in relief and medical sectors, and others people who are detained in regime’s prisons. This precautionary-seizing prevents the people from being entitled to dispose of their movable and immovable property, or to dispose of contracts of sale or purchase completely until the end of the dispute or judicial proceedings against them, however, due to the fact that the people whose property and money have been precautionary-seized, and that most of them are oppositionists and outside of control of the regime forces; the precautionary-seize turns from precautionary to almost final, because they will not be able to follow the cases filed against them, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 8th of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that authorities of the Syrian regime have issued a decision to execute several children in the Eastern Ghouta, who have been detained for years, who had a big involvement in the opposition movement against the regime in the area, and the sources confirmed that the reconciliation committee in Harasta city in the Eastern Ghouta informed 5 families in the city of the death sentence for their children in March 2019, but without giving them any additional information wither the decision was carried out or about the fate of bodies of their children after the execution, it worth mentioning that the reconciliation committee in the city worked to move the file of people detained by the regime forces to release them, of who were arrested between 2011 and 2012, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 4th of April 2019 that violations and abusive practices continue to be committed by the regime forces and their security services in the Eastern Ghouta, despite the lie of “reconciliation” it witnessed, where mentioned area of the great human reservoir its property has become violated, the security branches are racing to fill their tanks of citizens’ funds and possessions, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that the intelligence of the regime forces carried out in the past few weeks raid operations and systematic arrests in towns and cities of the Eastern Ghouta, where the raids and arrests were concentrated on homes of civilian and relief personalities who sued to work in service and administrative institutions and other institutions that opposed to the regime, and reliable sources confirmed that the Air Intelligence of the regime forces summoned former people of opinion and some of other people of known families in the Eastern Ghouta in addition to detainees during their raids, and they intimidated them by claiming that there were security reports against them, and blackmailed them to pay large amounts which reached about 12000 USD per person in order to destroy the security report by the head of the branch.

And the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 2nd of April 2019 that residents and people in the areas which witnessed “reconciliations and settlements”, are still paying the price of not accepting to be displaced and move to the Syrian north, where the harassment and abuse continue to be carried out against them by regime’s intelligence and security services, such as arrests and abuses against them all over the areas that witnessed reconciliations of Ghouta, Qalamoun, the Syrian south, and central Syria, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the Air Intelligence in the Eastern Qalamoun area, arrested a whole family consists of a mother and her 4 daughters on charges of “making a phone call to Idlib”, and sources informed the Syrian Observatory that regime’s intelligence has lists of names on their checkpoints for anyone who makes “communications with the Syrian north,” in particular, the citizen women, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 1st of April 2019 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was informed by reliable sources that the National Security Agency responsible for settlements of the regime forces, prevented about 150 people from the towns of Ein Khadra, Ain al-Fijah, and Bsima in Wadi Barada in Rif Dimashq; from returning to their home although they have made previous settlements, and most of them have volunteered in the forces of the 4th Division and the Republican Guards, where the sources confirmed that elders of Wadi Barada and the officials of the settlement and reconciliation have notified the aforementioned people with the decision of prevention, and that they need to check with the security branches in the capital, because there are different cases against them, and in the same context, intersected sources confirmed that the military checkpoints of the regime forces around these towns did not allow their families to return and inspect their homes; except with security approval issued by the notorious Branch of Filastin, and after obtaining the security clearance -if it was ever granted- they are allowed to visit their houses for a period of no more than 5 hours, and they are not allowed to move between neighborhoods at the time of the visit, it worth mentioning that the area was controlled by the regime forces in late January 2017 after violent clashes ended by the regime forces controlling them and displacing those who refused to stay in it and settle their situations.