Man accused of espionage arrested; family kidnapped from Sweida

In a statement issued today, the National Guard Command said that on Sunday it intercepted a truck arriving via the al-Thaala road from the western countryside, describing the route as “an unusual path for truck movement since last July, which raised suspicions.”

The statement added that “during the inspection of the driver’s identity and phone, photos and video clips were found documenting the bodies of victims, as well as scenes of fighters from the Defense Ministry affiliated with the terrorist Damascus government while participating in the Suweida massacres.”

The command stated that “the driver was immediately detained and referred to the military judiciary,” noting that preliminary investigations revealed his confession that he was “a volunteer in the Ministry of Defense working as a truck driver for espionage purposes.”

It identified the detainee as “Ali Hassan Samir from the town of Marj al-Sultan in eastern rural Damascus,” adding that he “remains in custody pending investigation.”

In the same context, the command said that “parties linked to the government and armed groups responded by kidnapping an entire civilian family from Sweida that was heading to Damascus to obtain passports,” stressing that the incident involved “an infant, a 12-year-old child, their parents, in addition to the taxi driver.”

The statement described the incident as “a blatant violation of human rights,” affirming that investigations are ongoing and that the case of the kidnapped family is being pursued “with mediators and guarantor states.” 

A-H

ANHA