10/10/2018 Syria (International Christian Concern) – On September 30, Soulman Yousph, a Syrian writer for multiple news sources, was arrested and detained for five days without charges in northern Syria.
Sources close to Soulman, who have asked to remain anonymous, said that at 9:00 p.m., on September 30, 10 Sutoro police arrived at his home and demanded that he come with them. After arresting Yousph in his home, they searched his entire apartment confiscating a laptop, a computer, and four of his cell phones.
Soulman remained in custody without being informed of his charges for five days before being released.
The cause of the arrest remains unknown. However, weeks prior to the arrest Soulman posted an article criticizing the Kurdish Democratic Union and the political wing of the People’s Protection Units for closing down private schools run by the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church.
Days before the arrest, he continued to criticize the Kurdish Democratic Union by posting a series of post on social media. In his posts, he called out the government for their human rights abuses and condemned them for their actions.
The morning Soulman was arrested, Sutoro police released a statement stating that they would be taking action against those who were spreading lies about the government. Although, they did not name Soulman in their statement, it is believed that his arrested was as a result of his articles criticizing them.
For interviews with Claire Evans, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: press@persecution.org.
