Lawyer: Detaining SDF fighters illegal under International Law

The interim government in Syria continues to detain hundreds of people, including fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces and other civilians, following attacks carried out by its affiliated factions on the forces while they were withdrawing from the areas of Maskanah and Deir Hafer. This comes despite the cessation of hostilities under the agreement signed on January 29 of this year.

In this context, activist and human rights lawyer Mahmoud Jamil explained that the detained SDF fighters held by the interim government cannot be classified as prisoners of war under international norms and laws. Instead, they fall under the category of “forcibly disappeared persons.”

He explained that their detention occurred during the withdrawal of forces from previously agreed-upon positions, not during direct military clashes between two parties.

Jamil pointed out that international norms and legal doctrine state that detaining any person outside the context of direct combat between two regular armies, or between a regular army and an armed group, cannot be considered a prisoner-of-war case. Rather, it is classified as illegal detention or enforced disappearance, which requires the immediate and unconditional release of the detainees and accountability for the party responsible for their detention.

The legal expert emphasized that the four Geneva Conventions and the Hague Convention of 1907 state that enforced detention or enforced disappearance constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime. He added that the continued detention of the fighters without legal justification could expose the detaining authority to legal accountability.

According to testimonies from some detainees, several of them have been tried before judicial bodies affiliated with the interim government and faced accusations, in addition to being subjected to torture.

In this regard, Jamil believes that the trial of these fighters lacks a legal basis because they did not carry out hostile acts against the interim government; rather, they were in the process of withdrawing from positions that had been agreed to be evacuated.

He explained that international humanitarian law states that the purpose of detaining fighters during armed conflicts is to prevent them from returning to combat until a ceasefire, truce, or peace agreement is signed. Therefore, once the military justification ends, they must be released immediately without delay.

The legal expert concluded by emphasizing that, in his view, there is no legal justification for the continued detention of SDF fighters. He called for their unconditional release and warned that continuing to hold them could expose the responsible authorities to legal accountability under international laws and conventions.

Recently, cities in Rojava have witnessed daily protests organized by families of detainees, political activists, and representatives of civil society, condemning the interim government’s delay in implementing the prisoner-release clause despite the agreement signed between the two parties on January 29, which stipulates prisoner exchange and clearing prisons.

ANHA