Idlib residents demand release of detainees in jihadist group’s prisons
The families of detainees in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s prisons in Syria’s Idlib province organized a series of protests, demanding that the group free their relatives, amid rumors that some of them will be executed.
ALEPPO, Syria — The number of protests demanding the release of detainees from the prisons of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib, have increased in the past days, following rumors circulating in the jihadis' and moderate Islamists' circles in Idlib that HTS plans to execute a number of prisoners.
On Jan. 21, dozens of people took part in a mass demonstration in the HTS-held town of al-Sahhara, in the northwestern Aleppo countryside, chanting slogans condemning HTS’ abuse against detainees held in its prisons.
The protesters carried photos of the prisoners and raised banners reading, “You killed the rebels, arrested the honorable, insulted the nobles and beat free women. What else does HTS’ security apparatus leave to the tyrants?” Another banner read, “Freedom to the revolution’s detainees."
On Jan. 20, a group of women from al-Sahhara issued a statement in a video recording that circulated on Twitter, calling for the release of the detainees.
