By Nalin Ali
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In an atmosphere of worry and ambiguity, the fate of four Kurdish young men from the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria remains unknown following their arrest in the capital, Damascus, in late June.
The families of the four men are calling on the Syrian transitional government, along with international and human rights organizations, to reveal the fate of their sons, who have been detained in Damascus for about ten days. No official information has been provided about their place of detention or any charges brought against them.
Contact with the young men was lost on June 25, and the circumstances surrounding their disappearance remain unclear to this day.
Travel and arrest details
Dijwar Haj Ali, the father of Abdulaziz Haj Ali (28), said his son left Qamishli on Wednesday, June 25, heading to Damascus with his co-workers to participate in a trade exhibition for Altunsa, a food company where he had worked as a driver for four years.
He told North Press that his son was planning, after the exhibition, to inquire about completing the two remaining subjects from his agricultural institute studies, which had been interrupted due to the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
He noted that “On Wednesday, June 25, they left Qamishli and arrived in Damascus on Thursday morning. By noon, they were arrested. They were accompanied by his cousin, whom they dropped off at a doctor’s clinic for treatment.”
“We contacted some friends, and they told us General Security forces arrested them in Shaalan area.”
“The detainees are my son Abdulaziz and his friend Diyar Omar Abdul Salam, who went with them for a visit. Also arrested were Ramadan Hussein Kano, an employee of the company and their friend Ahmad Farhan, a student from Derik who resides in Damascus.”
According to Abdulaziz’s father, the young men were in a car with Qamishli license plates and were arrested without any charges or disclosure of their whereabouts. Reports suggest that the arrest was carried out by the General Security forces in the Shaalan area.
Company’s response
The father also explained that General Security contacted the director of the company where the young men worked and confirmed that they were official employees.
He added that despite this, they were neither released nor were they informed of their location or the reason for their arrest.
“We thought that after the fall of the former Syrian regime, things would change and we would finally be free,” he added. “But what is happening now is taking us back to past practices—perhaps even to something worse. Had we known things were still like this, we would not have let our sons travel to Damascus.”
He continued, “What’s upsetting is that if they were arrested, their identities should have been verified,” adding, “If it turned out they had any issues, the relevant authorities should have informed us and taken legal action, bringing them to court and following due process.”
“That’s how things are supposed to work if you want to build a democratic country.”
Appeal to rights organizations and media
Haj Ali concluded with an appeal to the Syrian transitional government, human rights and international organizations, as well as the media, urging them to uncover the fate of the four young Kurds and ensure their safety.
“We only ask for justice and respect for human rights,” he said. “We do not want to spark division among the components of Syrian society. We just want to know where our sons are and why they were arrested—and we demand their immediate release unless there are clear legal reasons.”
Earlier, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) expressed concern about what it described as a “serious security escalation” in the Syrian capital, particularly in Kurdish neighborhoods such as Rukn al-Din and Wadi al-Mashari’, where several Kurdish activists and politicians have been detained.