Syrian Army Colonel disappeared since July 2012

Syrian Army Colonel disappeared since July 2012

Moussa Al Allawi was first arrested by the Syrian Air Force Intelligence in April 2012 following an attack by the Free Syrian Army on the warehouses of the Air Defence Administration where he worked. He was initially released before being arrested again, 10 days later, by the military police. Since then, his fate and whereabouts have never been clarified by the authorities.

At the end of April 2012, Al Allawi was working in the warehouses of the Air Defense Administration located in Marj Al Sultan, in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria. After the warehouses were targeted by the Free Syrian Army, officers investigated Al Allawi for “not defending the warehouses.”

He was then taken to a detention centre belonging to the Air Force Intelligence in Harasta, Rif Dimashq, where he was detained for 70 days. Ten days after he was released, he voluntarily went to the Military Police Station in Qaboun, after he was ordered to serve a 15-day imprisonment as part of a military punishment. Since then, he has never been released, and the authorities have not provided his family with any information relating to his fate and whereabouts.

A former detainee from the detention centre in Qaboun informed Al Allawi’s family that he had seen Allawi on August 20,2012. According to the former detainee, he was then transferred to Sednaya Military Prison on September 5, 2012, where he was later charged and tried by a military field court.  

On July 7,2014, Al Allawi’s name was mentioned on a Syrian opposition group’s Facebook page. The group alleged that he is still alive and detained in Sednaya Prison.

Since the start of the conflict in Syria, Sednaya Military Prison has become infamous, being the place where thousands of detainees have been arbitrarily executed by hanging, based on death sentences issued by military field courts following unfair trials.

On September 21, 2020, MENA Rights Group requested the intervention of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances                    

Timeline

September 21, 2020: MENA Rights Group requests the intervention of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
July 7, 2014: Al Allawi’s name is mentioned on a Syrian opposition group’s Facebook page, which claims that he is still alive and detained in Sednaya Prison.
August 20, 2012: A former detainee sees Al Allawi at a detention centre in Qaboun, run by the military police, and later informs Al Allawi’s family
July 12 2012: Al Allawi disappears following arrest by members of the military police.
April 2012:Al Allawi is taken to a detention centre belonging to the Air Force Intelligence and is detained for 70 days.