Syrian activist and former spokesman for anti-Assad faction Jaish al-Islam, Majdi Nema, during his university studies in Turkey
The family and lawyer of a detained Syrian activist claim that he has been abused in a French prison.
Majdi Nema, the former spokesman of the anti-Assad military faction Jaish al-Islam, was arrested in the early morning of January 29, 2020, while he was on a three-month visa for postgraduate study in Marseille under the European Union’s Erasmus program. He was accused by local authorities of “war crimes”, “torture” and “complicity in enforced disappearances”.
Jaish al-Islam, which controlled the East Ghouta region near Damascus from September 2013 to April 2018, has been accused of human rights violations by activists and the UN Commission of Inquiry in Syria.
Nema’s family and lawyer maintain that there is no evidence of his involvement in any crimes before he left Jaish al-Islam in 2016 and pursued an academic career, initially in Turkey. They argue that the Paris-based special unit prosecuting war crimes proceeded on claims, made by a group of Syrian expatriates, without establishing any basis for the allegations.
The family and lawyer say that, during his detention in January 2020, the student was beaten by plainclothes officer who initially did not identify themselves as police. Despite his injuries, he was further maltreated on the way to the police station.
Nema’s attorney released a photo, two days after the arrest, showing bruises on the detainee’s face. He added that there were also wounds across Nema’s body.
Nema’s family say he has been held in isolation, with no contact for more than 10 months, and that he could not see his lawyer for more than three months. They assert that he is suffering from health issues stemming from the maltreatment during his arrest.
The family finally decided to break their silence late last month, with no formal charge lodged against Nema after 13 months. In a Twitter thread, they posted information and the photograph of his bruised face.
Call for Court Hearing
Nema defected from the Assad regime’s army in 2012 to join the revolution, which began with the March 2011 uprising in southern Syria and spread across the country. Under the nom du guerre Captain Islam Alloush, he served as Jaish al-Islam’s spokesperson, working from Turkey since 2013 and never returning to East Ghouta.
He left Jaish al-Islam in 2016 after an interview which he gave to an Israeli researcher.
The faction has been accused of the kidnapping in December 2013 of the “Douma 4”, opposition activists in the city who were pursuing rights and documenting the killing of civilians by the Assad regime. The activists, including Razan Zaitouneh, are still missing.
See also Syria: Zaitouneh’s Last Video Before Abduction “Hope Amid Slow Death of Siege”
Jaish al-Islam has denied involvement, saying the regime or another armed group may be the perpetrators. Nema’s family note, as the spokesperson was in Turkey, he had no position in the faction’s chain of command.
Nema’s lawyer says he has offered to hear witnesses, but French authorities have not responded.
The family and attorney also say prosecutor’s questions to Nema have been based on disinformation fed to them by the Assad regime and by supporters of the Islamic State, whom Jaish al-Islam fought in southern Syria before the area was overrun by the regime in 2018.
They are calling for formal charges to be placed against Nema, so the case can be resolved in a public court hearing.
