“Children are Kept in the Same Cells as the Men in Idlib”
Yesterday HTS’ security men at the order of Abu Muhammad Jolani went on a spree. They detained scores of activists whom exposed and highlighted HTS shocking crimes in Syria. Some of them were those who were just recently released from prison. Amongst them was Shaykh Abu Shuayb Misree whom was just released from HTS custody just 14 days ago. Misree was initially arrested last October by HTS thugs who rammed their pickup truck into him while walking with his step son who suffers from cancer. He was subsequently bundled into the car by masked men and whisked away. Amid the outcry of the kidnapping which was caught on camera, HTS vehemently stated that the Shaykh was NOT in their custody. Months later it was revealed what everyone knew: he was sitting right in their prison. He was tortured during his prison stay.
Abu Shuayb said on his Telegram channel last week during the Eid that mothers and their children were imprisoned near his cell during his incarceration. The same observations were made by numerous detainees as well including Abu Abd Shiddaa and Bilal Abdul Kareem.
Bilal Abdul Kareem said of his interaction with children while he was in HTS’ prison in 2020-2021, “I had some sweets that my family brought to me during a visit and there was a boy who was obviously very young from his voice and the others around him said he was 12 years old. He was kept in the same cell as the men. He was crying incessantly so I sent him some sweets to make him feel better. He certainly wasn’t the only child.” As for women being kept in prison and their torture, Abdul Kareem said, “In the prison of Harem we would frequently hear the screams of women screaming and begging for mercy. The guards tried to deceive us by saying there was a “Ruqya center (to exorcise Jinns) nearby” and that is why the women were screaming.
Children being in HTS custody is an open secret. However, the statement of Abu Shuayb garnered media attention on a level other statements by ex-detainees did not inflaming tensions between Jolani and the people who have been calling for his downfall. It is believed that this is what led to Shaykh Abu Shuayb’s most recent arrest.
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