Syrian human rights organisations said that forces affiliated with what is known as the Syrian National Army, in areas outside the regime’s control, arrested cartoonist Ahmed Khalil Al-Jalal, from his workplace at Aleppo University in the city of Azaz.
Al-Jalal, a resident of the city of Kafr Nabl, is considered one of the first to rebel against the Assad regime in 2011, and was famous for writing anti-regime banners in the town, before he moved from there to the city of Azaz, after being subjected to harassment and persecution threatening his life.
In a statement on its website on Tuesday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) condemned the arrest of Al-Jalal, noting that the arrest took place on Sunday, “under the pretext of harbouring a civilian in his home, with the intention of heading to the Syrian-Turkish border, to cross into Turkiye, in an unofficial manner.”
The organisation indicated that “the process of detaining Al-Jalal took place without issuing a judicial warrant, and he was taken to the Central Military Police Department of the National Army in the town of Kafr Janna, near the city of Azaz.”
In turn, the Rasd Syria Network for Human Rights explained that “the National Army forces are still continuing their violations against civilians and their property in the areas under their control.”
The network added in a statement on its website on Tuesday, that “National Army forces arrest civilians and activists arbitrarily, without warning, under false pretexts, and without adherence to international laws.”
The network called on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards civilians and protect them, and to put pressure on the national army forces “to stop their violations and reveal the fate of hundreds of civilians detained in their prisons.”
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